


The Moon Child

by Viva_La_Revolution



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A brief mention of Lance's family, Captured Lance, Druid Lance, Good druid lance, Lance gets kidnapped, Lance has magic powers, Lance is super close with his cool moon witch grandma, Lance with powers, Langst, Langst (?), M/M, Moon Lance, Mostly his grandma though, Pidge can't compute, Witch Lance, Witchcraft voltron, Wizard lance, Yep definitely has langst now, corrupted, corrupted lance, cuz we need that gay shit, eventual Klance, just a bit though, lance centric, magic lance, pidge swears a lot, she's dead though, water lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-05-09 10:56:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 56,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14714726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viva_La_Revolution/pseuds/Viva_La_Revolution
Summary: Lance had a big family, sure. But he was particularly fond of his grandmother of his mother's side. Thanks to her, he can manipulate Lunar energy. Though it was limited.That was why he wanted to be a fighter pilot. This gift can very well be the greatest thing to happen to mankind. But man, did fate had other plans.





	1. Chapter 1: Swap Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance feels something familiar, something from home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my book, everybody!

“Only when the power of the moon is within your reach will you be able to manipulate it”

 

That was his grandmother’s last words to Lance, letting the six-year-old chug down the mystery drink she gave him. That was 2 hours before she died of old age. Sometimes he wonders why it has to be the moon. Why did the moon represent him so much? His friends would agree that he’s more like the sun; bubbly, bright, and brings light to everyone’s day.

 

Then he realized; the moon and him were so much alike. They bring light to the darkest of situations. Among all the other stars in the sky and smiles in a crowd, they’ll always shine brightest. People often favor someone else over them. No one notices the effort they put into to bring light to a dark time. Their light always comes from someone else’s.

 

The day he realized, he felt somewhat in peace. Laying in his bed, staring at the cold metal ceiling above him. The quiet hum the castle gives off, only to be heard when everything is peaceful and just, does little to lull him to sleep.

 

He stared and was in deep thought. Will he be able to ever use the moon again? He doesn’t have to use the Earth’s moon, right? No, it just has to be a moon. Any moon. And there are billions of moons in space. And that’s where he is.

 

Cold. Lonely. Space.

 

Where he is a moon among all the different suns.

 

* * *

 

Allura stood in front of the paladins, her smile soft yet excited. “Paladins! I believe we all deserve a quintant of relaxation to ourselves. We’ve fought valiantly against the Galra and because of your last mission, I think we all need it.”

 

The tired groans were the only response the princess received. Their latest mission left not only the lions damaged, but the paladins exhausted. They had to deal with the most annoying species of aliens they ever met. They. Couldn’t. Stop. Talking. Even Shiro became annoyed, and he was the patient one!

 

“We’ll all be going to a swap moon!” Even more tired groans erupted from the team, only louder. Hasn’t she learned what kind of trouble they can get into there? “It’s a different moon, I swear! It’s a calm and peaceful trade moon that the galra barely touched The Unilu there are said to be better traders than before.”

 

“Princess?” Shiro stepped forward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He rubbed the back of his neck, either from its soreness or from the look Allura gave him.

 

She raised an eyebrow. “Why not? Do you not believe you deserve a brief moment of peace? I do understand your concerns with letting our guard down for a quintant- but rest assured, the blade of Marmora are currently keeping them busy”

 

“That’s… not what I meant” Shiro dragged out. “Are you sure going to a swap moon would be a good idea… I mean the last time we had a day to ourselves…” She cocked her head to side.

 

“I almost died fighting Zarkon.”

 

“I almost became a slave.”

 

“I almost got arrested.”

 

“Lance and I stole GAC from a fountain.”

 

“We bought a cow.”

 

Allura eyed team Voltron. She was aware of all the… mishaps her paladins have done in the one day she decided to give them a free day- but she trusted them to be more mature.

 

….

 

Who was she kidding? She just wants to buy something sparkly. She hardly had time to get things she wanted and not things she needed. And right now, she wanted a day off.

 

* * *

 

  
The Alteans hopped off the two front seats, looking at the trading area in front of them. “My, Coran, you were right. Maybe some of the Unilu did change” the princess smiled at the scene.

 

The paladins climbed out of the back of the pod, stretching their backs. Coran turned to the five humans. “Well,” He began. “Instead of going around the swap moon broke, I figure you’ll be needing these”

 

He threw a bag to each of the paladins, each making a slight *clink* sound. They looked at it curiously, Pidge deciding to inspect the inside. “HOW DID YOU GET THIS MUCH GAC?!” She exclaimed, recognizing the coins as the highest possible currency.

 

“Good question, number 5” Coran played with his mustache, a cocky smile on his face. “You see, 1 GAC ten thousand years ago would cost around a thousand GAC now! So I offered around 50 GAC to the nice Unilu who was willing to buy them. Don’t worry, I had quite the piggy bank before the war.”

 

“How much is in here, Coran?” Shiro asked, a curious smile on his face.

 

Coran hummed. “If I’m correct, you should have around 5000 GAC each.” They gasped in excitement. They quickly said their thanks to the Altean man before bolting to the small trading shops that seemed to litter the moon.

 

Allura sighed. “I do hope they won’t get in trouble this time” She said as she shook her head. The Altean man chuckled.

 

“I doubt it, princess”

 

* * *

 

 

Lance wondered around the trading market. From the shops to the people, it reminded him of the renaissance era back on Earth.

 

It was no surprise they all split up so quickly. I mean, if you had the choice to take a break from the 6 people you lived with in a castle for only a day; you’d be running for the hills too. He glanced at what the merchandise of the shops were selling.

 

Weapons, food, souvenirs, products from other planets, and gemstones were some of the common ones. He stopped in front of a quaint little shop which sold a variety of fabrics. He walked towards the shop, inspecting the ones on display.

 

An alien drew close to him, a welcoming smile on his face. “Welcome, stranger! Care to take a look at some of the best and high-quality fabrics in the galaxy? I personally flew through the universe just to sell these lovely fabrics.”

 

Lance offered a smile to him. He seemed to be an elderly man, wrinkles on every inch of his face as he smiled. His eyes were squinted, trying to get a proper look on Lance.

 

“By any chance, do you have any soft and smooth black and blue fabrics?” He inquired, cocking his head to the side a bit. The alien smiled wider, almost beaming with joy.

 

He rushed to a few rolls of fabric in the back of the shop. “Yes! Yes! I have only the softest and smoothest materials in the galaxy. Black and Blue? They seem to be a great color combination. Reminds me of the Naheelian galaxy. That spiral galaxy has the most beautiful combinations of blue and black! Really outstanding piece of work.”

 

He drew out a blue fabric and black fabric, holding the two rolls in his arms gracefully as he stepped back to the paladin. “These are my best fabrics, if I do say so myself!” He handed the two rolls to the human. “They are from the planet Platini. They never wrinkle, their softness and smoothness never wear off, and all stains could be easily washed off”

 

The blue paladin felt the fabric. It was so much better than silk, if it were even possible. His thumb massaged the cloth between his fingers. He also loved how the two colors clashed together. “This is perfect! Thank you.”

 

The owner of the shop smiled and clapped in glee. “Such a polite man! It’s rare to see your kind in places like these,” He chirped. “You know what? I’ll cut you a discount, lad! Just half the price for each. It’ll be around 800 GAC for both”

 

Lance furiously shook his head. “No, it’s really fine! I can afford the actual price. I-“He was cut off with the old man shushing him, a hand waving him to silence.

 

“My! A polite and modest young man you are! I can’t possibly let you pay that much. 600 GAC” Oh dear god this is getting way to out of control. Lance had to either agree with the current price or he’ll keep decreasing it. And as much as he wanted to get it to the lowest price possible- it felt wrong.

 

He gave the man a hesitant smile. “Okay, I really appreciate it.” He grabbed his bag and opened it- pulling out the exact amount needed. He handed the money to the trader, who grabbed it quickly. The alien flashed another smile.

 

“Take care now, and careful with that bag of yours. Lots of disrespectful youngsters up and about”

 

He nodded before walking off, his right arm wrapped around the fabric rolls while his hand brought the bag of GAC close to him. He was extremely cautious when it came to money, he has no idea how he became so protective with it but he was glad he was.

 

The rolls were thick and they were easily the same height as Keith- him being only a few inches shorter than Lance- showed how much of a great deal he got with the alien. He only wished the alien wasn’t so charitable.

 

He wondered around the market some more, young children running past him as adults traded and talked. It was a peaceful sight. It was a nice thought to know that Zarkon wasn’t able to conquer this moon. However, with his son and the heir to the throne Lotor on the rise; who knows what he’s capable of doing.

 

His eyes wondered around the marketplace, looking at every alien that he passed. He winked at a small group of girls, who giggled happily to his charms. His smile grew wider as they giggled. He loved to make people happy. The only way he would shine bright is when people around him expressed the same, garnering the light to make his own.

 

**Just like the moon.**

 

His feet came to an abrupt stop. That feeling. That feeling of a wave of power crashing down onto you. This familiar feeling that Lance was more than familiar with.

 

His head shot up and looked around the area. How was it possible? Sure, he was on a moon, but still. It felt so much stronger than the waves he felt on Earth from its moon. And it was only just the first wave.

 

He started speed walking through the shops. Something was making a strong lunar energy. Strong enough to make even stronger waves than the waves he experienced back on Earth. Far stronger.

 

The second wave of power drew in, stronger. It almost suffocated his lungs. He must be getting close.

 

Maybe he was going to the epicenter of the moon? No, lunar energy doesn’t work like that. It’s the same throughout. Well, except for the fact that the moon back on Earth had a supposed dark side that no one has seen yet.

 

Maybe moons that actually emit light from their sun gave off the power? Is that why most of the moons they visited didn’t radiate as much power as being a few hundred miles away from one that does? He should ask Pidge later, she’s the smart one.

 

The third came in. It came in so harshly it hurt. He was starting to see stars in his eye sight. But as he walked, he looked unfazed. He was so used to getting waves like these almost every night back on Earth.

 

He felt something past the pain. He felt something calling out to him. Like a flame in a dark and cold night. It seemed to beckon him towards his direction. He broke into a sprint, reaching that energy that called him.

 

He stopped in front of a gambler. The four-eyed alien looked to be a teenager, or a young adult. He had one of the biggest shit-eating grins he had ever seen. He sat, cross-legged on the ground with a peach mat in front of him. On the mat were three cups.

 

He was gambling against an old man, who was no doubt confident in his luck. The three cups were moving with great speed as the gambler did his work. The old man looked down on the cups, a strong determined look painted on his face.

 

The alien stopped and grinned at the old man. He raised an eyebrow as his client rose his hand, already deciding which one has the price. He picked the on the right.

 

“Sorry. - “He lifted the cup he chose. “- But your wrong. Better luck next time.” With unbelieving eyes, the old man lifted the two other cups. He stared at the red jewel in front of him, taunting him for his mistake. It was the center cup. The center cup held the gem.

 

With a frustrated grunt, the old alien got up and walked away. The gambler turned to the crowd in front of him, the blue paladin being in the front and center. “Who’s next?”

 

Lance took in a deep breath and walked to the alien. He stopped in front of the mat, placing the rolls of fabric beside him on the dusty ground. He’ll have to wash the fabric before he did anything with it later.

 

The alien smiled, his shit-eating grin present on his face; only meant to taunt his newest challenger. “I haven’t actually seen your kind before! What are you, Rubanian?” He eyed the blue paladin suspiciously.

 

“Human.” Lance smiled confidently. “From planet Earth.” The gambler raised an eyebrow at the response. His grin faltering for a tick. He didn’t like the way this ‘human’ was so confident, then again most of his clients were confident.

 

He grabbed the box behind him, placing it on the mat. He lifted the lid to find different gems- no doubt from different planets. Each had a specific case- carefully packaged in holes that fit perfectly them. This gambler had these gems for quite a while.

 

“Choose one. Different price for each gamble.” Lance eyed the precious gemstones presented in front of him. There were a lot of gems that were multi-colored, a few having one solid color, and one or two that were clear and almost looked like glass.

 

The one gemstone that caught his attention was a beautiful, round, royal blue gemstone. But its beauty didn’t catch his eye. No. This was the source of the strong lunar energy waves he experienced. He needed this.

 

He pointed at the gem, his eyes looking at the gambler with a determined look. The gambler was amused, his grin turning into a smirk.  
He picked a pair of tweezers and picked up the royal blue crystal carefully- as to not scratch or lower its quality. “I see you have your eyes on the Crioli Moon Gem, Chandrakant. Its moon and planet were destroyed by the Galra 9, 700 years ago not long after the empire rose.”

 

He let the gem shine in the surrounding light. It seemed to have sparkled more than the rest of the gems in the case. “It’ll cost around 200 GAC to bet on this gem. Plus- “He pulled out four more cups from behind him, setting them on the mat. “-You’ll be having to choose between 7 cups.”

 

Lance watched as the gambler placed the gem under the center- most cup. He grabbed his bag and took out the GAC, giving it to the sly gambler. He looked as the alien started to move the cups, progressively getting faster. He only looked at it with a confident yet stern look as the cups became nothing but a blur.

 

After a good 30 ticks, he slowed down and stopped. He waved his hand over the cups, inviting Lance to take his pick. His smile taunting him with the confidence of him getting It wrong.

 

Lance hovered his right hand over on the fourth cup to his right. He felt the gemstone glow its strong lunar energy in it. But before he was able to properly pick, the gemstone swapped to the next side.

 

Ah.

So, this alien’s a cheat.

 

The blue paladin smirked. He quickly grabbed the second cup to his left with his left hand- leaving no time for the gambler to use whatever witchcraft he did to swap the place of the gem.

 

The crowd stared in awe as the gemstone sparkled in the light. The alien looked at the human with a confused look- but it quickly dissolved into disbelief. “I win,” the blue paladin said, grabbing the gemstone.

 

The gambler glared at Lance with an angry expression as he recollected the fabric beside him. Lance placed the gem in his pocket. His bag, fabric, and gemstone in hand- he cockily walked through the crowd. He hardly missed the low growl the alien gave as he walked out of the scene.

 

He was a considerably good distance away from the cheating gambler when he stopped in front of a bar. There were a few aliens sitting on the stools- taking gulp after gulp of unknown alcohols. And he knew it was alcohol or something similar, because there were a few drunk men flirting and cat calling passing women and men.

 

He strolled into the bar, taking a seat on the creaky stool. He gave the bartender his signature grin. “Something light, I have places to go to.” The bartender gave a short nod before sliding Lance a tall glass of alcohol.

 

It was blue at the top, fading into a sea green color at the bottom. “Ocean tongue,” The bartender informed, casually cleaning a glass with a _hopefully_ clean piece of cloth.

 

The Cuban looked at the glass curiously before looking around him, searching for any sign of his teammates. If he was caught, they’ll most likely snitch to Shiro- who would ground him for the next decade. He can take in beer like an Irish man, thank you very much.

 

He grabbed the glass and took a swig of the unknown liquid. The liquor took effect immediately, making Lance light headed. Out of everyone in his family, he seemed to have the greatest tolerance to beer. He let out a few dry coughs before chugging down the rest of his drink.

 

He absentmindedly paid the bartender his 200 GAC. He was somewhat sober, he just needed someone to chat to before the alcohol leaves his system. And the bar wasn’t too busy.

 

He turned to the bartender, who was cleaning yet another glass. If every movie he watched was right, then every bartender has the information you’ll need.

 

“Hey buddy,” He slurred his words unintentionally, getting a glance from the barkeep. He cleared his throat to make his mind focus on the situation. “Do you know a planet called Crioli? More specifically its moon.”

 

The barkeeper raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of the planet, much less its moon. Why are you so curious about its satellite anyway?”

 

Lance grabbed 50 GAC from his bag, sliding it to the curious barkeeper. “Listen, I’ll have more use with your information than you will with mine.”

 

The alien grabbed the GAC and mentally counted it, given a few ticks. He looked back up at Lance. “I know of Crioli, but not its moon.” Lance slid another 50 GAC to him, earning him a short nod.

 

“The moon of Crioli, Enriol, was a good topic of superstition. It was said to be visited by only the highest level Alteans, a powerful species that were wiped away ten thousand years ago. These Alteans were fond of witch craft, which is why they would go to this particular moon for energy.

 

But these Altean sorcerers were extremely powerful and rare- not even royalty can match their power. And not only Alteans, a few powerful aliens from different planets would have access to the planet for its power.

 

I heard it doesn’t give you energy- these aliens would manipulate its powers. It was unknown as to how they can, but it was believed to be their quintessence and how they were able to connect to lunar energy. It would take people deca-pheebs to even receive a connection to a moon.

 

Enriol only grew one product, gemstones called Chandrakant. The Criolins refused to let anyone harvest from the moon, so it was extremely rare to have one. Almost impossible.”

 

Lance unconsciously felt for the gemstone in his pocket, feeling its energy in his fingertips. It made him feel restless and helped him sober up. He missed this feeling of the moon through his veins.

 

The barkeeper looked at Lance and the items he had. “A bag full of GAC and man-sized rolls of fabric. What are you, a trader? Or a merchant?” Lance shook his head, giving the short response of “Neither” to satisfy the man’s curiosity.

 

The alien looked at Lance again before gesturing to the stall next to them. “My wife sells bags and satchels, I recommend you buy one. Tell her Rihore sent you- she’ll give you a discount.”

 

The human looked at him in disbelief before giving a smile. “Thanks man, I mean it. And thanks for the intel.” He got up from his stool and walked over to the stall. He was completely sober at this point, thanks to his tolerance and the gem.

  
His eyes scanned the various satchels and backpacks in front of him. There were also various buttons, pins, and kits on sale. He grabbed one of the sewing kits and a few rolls of silky black thread. He also took a button the size of his index finger, it took the shape of a detailed crescent moon.

 

His eyes made contact with a black satchel, matching the fabric he bought. He quickly took it and inspected the fabric. The satchel’s fabric was smooth yet firm- making the perfect choice.

 

He looked over to the lady, showing the items he chose. “How much?” He asked, cocking his head to the side as his usual smile on his face appeared.

 

The woman eyed the items in his possession, looking up to face Lance. “Around 2300 GAC.” Her smile was soft as she told the price. She seemed like a very kind and quiet type of person.

 

“A-Actually your husband Rihore sent me…” The woman perked up. Her smile grew wider as her eyes sparkled.

 

“O-oh my! You drank the Ocean tongue, didn’t you? How are you still sober? That was one of the strongest drinks in this section of the galaxy,” she stated in disbelief, eyeing him head to toe. “Well, I guess I lost that bet.”

 

Wait didn’t Lance ask for something light? What would’ve happened if he didn’t have the moon gem with him? Kidney failure most likely.

 

She gave a short sigh. “I don’t know how you’ve done it, but I’ll cut the deal to 1200 GAC. Take it or leave it.” Lance quickly placed his purchases on the table, grabbing his bag. He gave her the money and she took it happily.

 

Lance scooped up the items he bought with his bag and stuffed them all in his satchel, locking it tightly. He hugged the fabric tighter with his right arm as his left hand held onto his satchel with an iron grip. He cheerfully thanked the woman before strolling off.

 

He took a steady breath in as he passed more shops, not one peeking his interests. He glanced over at a deserted bookstore. There was even a sign that said ‘80% off!’ Wow, Lance really has his luck cut out for him today.

  
His eyes roamed around the large selection of books before his eyes landed on a young woman whose attention was fully set on a book about the Whilib Star system. He cleared his throat, the rabbit like ears of the girl perked up from the sudden noise.

 

“A-A costumer? H-Hi! I’m Aurelia! Pleasure to meet ya” She was a cheery young girl, her brown hair tied into a ponytail contrasted over her green and white fur. She had an Australian accent, strange enough, but it brought a smile to his face.

 

“Uh, do you have anything about the moon of Enriol?” Her eyes blew wide open, her ears straightened in surprise. She looked around her stall before grabbing a book. It looked to be in fine condition, surprisingly. It had a beautiful blue crescent moon on its cover, the black cover of the book contrasted over the pure white pages.

 

She handed the book to the blue paladin, an innocent smile on her face. “No one is ever interested in the good stuff! I’m glad people like ya still exist, ya weird yet wonderful species!” She squeezed his cheek, her fluffy paws reminded him of cotton.

 

He smiled softly at the enthusiastic nerd. “Do you have anything on alchemy? Summoning, energy wielding, anything like that?” He’ll need to take advantage of the situation while he still held control.

 

She hopped back into her bookshelves, her fox like tail wagging behind her. “Yeppers! I think I have a couple. What are ya, a fashion designing magic sorcerer?” She inquired restlessly as she dug through the books.

 

He gave out a shrug, only seen by the bunny-alien’s backside. “Not exactly,” he said, “I’m more of a fashionista magic wizard nerd.” He loved to read his grandmother’s books about the moon, however her ‘spell books’ were burnt by his grandfather/ her husband. What kind of relationship was that?

 

His grandmother was a witch of sorts, a lunar witch to be specific. She would go on hours just to talk about tales, spells and stories about the moon. She held such great passion for the satellite, everything in her home back on Cuba was purely about the moon.

 

And people claimed she was crazy.

 

No one saw her the way he did. She was the greatest person he ever met. Despite her old age, she would dance on bamboo tops, her black and blue dress weave around her gracefully as she would twirl. Her feet would always find their way on the bamboo top.

 

Her long silky light gray hair that faded into a darker gray as it went down her waist always fascinated him. Her posture and form were so much like a young adult’s, her secret being _a_   _little help from Luna._  Another name for the moon.

 

Now, with her gone, he only had her grandmother from her father’s side. And truth be told, he would prefer her witch grandmother over her abuelita any day. Not like he hated her abuelita. He just favored the one with magic, who wouldn’t?

 

The green rabbit alien balanced two books on her head as she gracefully made her way to Lance. “These are the only magic related books I got! Sorry.” Lance waved her off, showing a ‘its fine’ gesture. She bent over, the books sliding onto Lance’s hand.

 

“That’ll be ‘round… hrm… 500 GAC. I feel generous today.” This stream of discounts has to have some hefty price later. The yin and yang theory would blow up in his face any minute now. He swiftly took his bag of GAC from the satchel and paid the woman, noticing he had around 2200 GAC left. Wow, money sure does fly.

 

He grabbed the books and placed them in his satchel along with his bag, a soft _click_ noise sounding as he locked the satchel. He hugged the fabric to his side tighter as he had his other hand on his satchel.

 

“Thank you so much, Aurelia. I can’t wait to- “He stopped when he heard a familiar set of feet rush towards him. Thank you gem for enhancing his senses. It really did determine Keith’s footsteps accurately.

 

“LANCE!” The Cuban turned around to find his teammates hands grabbing his shoulders in a panic. He violently shook him. “I’M BEING CHASED.”

 

Lance quickly shoved the rolls of fabric and his satchel onto the red paladin as he began to remove his jacket. The latter looked at him confused before he handed him his green jacket. “Hurry.”

 

Keith draped the piece of clothing over his shoulders and pulled the hood up as Lance grabbed his belongings and fixed his satchel. They turned to face away from the streets as an angry buff looking alien stomped on their way.

 

“WHERE IS THAT HUMAN!? I’M GONNA SKIN HIM ALIVE.” The man yelled, garnering everyone’s attention. Keith grabbed a book and covered his face, pretending to read.

 

The alien man stormed off, still waving around the large dagger in his hand. Lance turned to the man in his hoodie as he sets down the book back down onto the shelf. “Care to explain?”

 

The raven-haired boy shrugged nonchalantly, his hands gripping the jacket closer to him. “The guy stole my bag of GAC. I fought with him and got more than what was stolen from me. The guy freaked and started chasing me.”

 

Lance gave a long sigh. “Look, just be glad I was here. He looked serious with his threats.” Keith gave him a look of tired acknowledgement. “I know,” he stated, his fatigue showing in his tone of voice.

 

He eyed the items the blue paladin had. “What the quiznak? Lance, why do you have two huge rolls of fabric with you?” Lance gave out a chuckle before adjusting one of the rolls of fabric beside the half-galran.

 

“It’s not that huge, it’s the same height as you,” he said as he compared the height of the two. Aurelia gave a out a loud snort from behind him as Keith punched his side. But there was smile gracing his lips.

 

Lance was about to point it out but stopped when Hunk and Pidge ran past them. Not far behind them were five aliens with crazy hairstyles chasing after the two with weird electronics.

 

“WE HAVE TO GO WE HAVE TO GO WE HAVE TO GO WE HAVE TO GO”

 

“FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK”

 

“And this is our cue to leave”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if it was bad


	2. Chapter 2: His thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the castle, Allura has a word or two with her paladins.
> 
> And Lance finally sees his role in the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is basically filler and backstory
> 
> I wrote this while waiting for my sister to come home all night.
> 
> I feel nothing

“Luna has her eyes on you, my beloved grandson.” His grandmother’s hair swayed in the wind as they strolled through the garden. The young 5-year-old followed her graceful form on the stone pathway, hopping innocently on each stone.

They passed by flower beds of Datura, evening primroses, Casa Blanca, and other night flowers. Their white petals seemed to glow with the stars above as the crescent moon illuminated the sky. The trees surrounding the area rustled their leaves with the wind.

It was such a peaceful sight.

The woman turned to the young boy with a smile. With one graceful motion, she swept him off her feet and twirled him around. He giggled happily to her antics, leaving the woman to laugh with him. 

=================

“What on the name of Altea were you five doing?!” Allura placed her hands on her hips as she glared down on each of the paladins. Hi, space mom. Your space children and space dad didn’t do anything wrong… without good reason… probably. “Well?!” 

Hunk took a deep inhale before he answered the princess. “Pidge and I were looking at this shop that sold electronic devices. They looked pretty old so we took a closer look. The stall had a fish bowl that had this octopus-looking creature which we assumed was their pet.

A group of these weird aliens with equally weird hairstyles greeted us. Pidge was trying to get one of the electronics above the fish bowl when she accidentally tipped it over and dropped it in the bowl. The octopus got electrocuted and then the aliens got angry. They started chasing us and we ran. It wasn’t really my fault, I swear!”

Pidge looked at Hunk with a betrayed expression. “Hey! You pointed them out for their hair AND their weird electronics. I mean, I’ll have to agree with you that they were weird but you didn’t have to go telling them about it!”

“At least I didn’t kill their pet!” Hunk countered, giving an offensive glare to the gremlin. They both glared daggers at each other before they turned away, pouting.  
Shiro massaged his temples, his galran arm in a sling. “This Unilu came up to me and saw my arm. He yelled out that I was a spy of the Galra and the next thing I knew; I was being chased through the market. They were able to shoot my arm, so I couldn’t fight back.”

The bags next to Shiro gave everyone the assumption that he was in the middle of a shopping spree when he was attacked. Allura’s gaze went on to Keith, who raised his hands up in mock surrender.

“I was just trying to get back my GAC”

“And steal more from the blacksmith?”

“Hey, he started it”

“And you were the one who continued it!”

Lance gave out a chuckle from the princess’ comeback to Keith’s flawed reasoning. This action only made the Altean’s glare turn to him. He could swear he saw smoke coming out of her nose.

Lance kept his cool and gave out a shrug. “I was well-behaved princess, I didn’t get into any trouble~” He batted his eyelashes innocently. Allura wasn’t buying it.

“Then explain to me why an alien was chasing you with a fully loaded blaster-rifle?” Her eyes raised as she eyed down Lance. 

Lance gave a nervous chuckle. The memory of the gambler trying to shoot down Lance was still fresh in his mind. “I won at a game he was cheating on, that’s all.” Half truth was better than a lie, he supposed.

Allura gave a sigh as her hands dropped to her sides, exhausted. Her hair was somewhat disheveled from the running they did to get back to the parked pod- which had a ton of sprayed on graffiti. This day wasn’t going well for anyone.

Allura gave a deep sigh and took her sweet time exhaling. She looked back at the paladins, her eyes showing her fatigue. “It’s only been a couple of vargas… I suppose that doesn’t exactly count as a quintant. You are all dismissed… I need to lie down.”

The paladins all got up and grabbed their things. Lance got weird looks from Pidge and a knowing look from Hunk. Keith looked at the Cuban curiously while the other adults left the room.

Pidge cleared her throat. “What’s with the fabric, Lance? I’m pretty sure you don’t know how to sew.” Lance laughed dryly at her comment.

“Actually, he’s really great at making clothes! This one time back at high school, the class was competing in a theater competition against other classes. None of the girls knew how to sew so Lance had to make around 20 costumes all by himself. They looked really good, too.” Hunk chirped, his eyes shining from the good old times.

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Wow, I never would have guessed.” Keith smiled as he gave out his comment. Lance would have been offended, but he was much more confused of the fact that Keith smiling while he said that. Had he always smiled?

“Yeah- “Hunk waved his hands animatedly, “-My favorite was this really nice black and blue dress for the girl who played as witch in our act. It looked so simple but it really fit her character.”

That same dress that Hunk was talking about was inspired by the same dress he remembered his grandmother wearing every time he saw her. It was like an exact copy. It was painful to see someone else wear something so similar to her grandmother’s.

Pidge raised an eyebrow at Lance. “I’m pretty sure we won’t be needing any witch dresses, Lance. We’re not going to be holding a play.”

Lance gave a shrug. “Hey, I wanted to make something. I missed pricking my fingers with my needle,” Lance joked, hugging the fabric while his satchel hung on his shoulder.

Keith looked at the satchel and noticed it looking full. “Two questions; what’s in the bag and what were you doing in front of a bookstore?” 

Why was everyone questioning him all of a sudden? It wasn’t like he did anything wrong- PIDGE KILLED SOMEONE’S PET FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

“One, sewing materials. Two, I was just looking at the shop. Nothing too special.” Again, half truths were better than lies. One of Lance’s best life quotes. 

He has to diffuse the situation, somehow. Get the sudden attention away from him. “Is this an interrogation or something? Why don’t you ask Shiro about what he had in those bags of his? How do we not know it’s not tequila or something?”

Hunk snorted at his best friend’s comment. “Come on, it’s Shiro we’re talking about. Him out of all people? Drinking?”

“Actually, Shiro would take a few shots of whiskey whenever he was stressed. I’ve lived with him for 4 years and we’re as close as brothers. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did buy alcohol.”

Pidge and Hunk made eye contact before mischievous grins appeared on their faces. “20 GAC IF SHIRO ACTUALLY HAS LIQUOR.” Pidge yelled out. “OH, YOU’RE ON!” Hunk replied before the two of them ran out of the room, no doubt in search for their leader.

Lance and Keith exchanged looks before chuckling at team PUNK’s childish shenanigans. When the brief moment of their laughter ended, Lance turned back to see his teammate having another small smile on his face as they made eye contact.

He didn’t dare break it, but then his mind suddenly switched back to the Chandrakant stone in his pocket. His hand sub consciously made its way to his pocket, feeling the small stone at the tip of his fingertips. 

The blue paladin took a step back from the him. “I’m going back to my room. These won’t sew themselves,” He joked before waving the red paladin goodbye, walking out of the room hurriedly.

========  
His rolls of fabric leaned on the corner of the room across from his bed, where he laid down staring at nothing. His hands played with the gemstone, caressing it gently. His hands feeling and memorizing each detail of the stone as his mind was deep in thought. 

His head was filled with the memories of his grandmother. Now that he thought about it, neither his mother nor his father had blue eyes like him. 

No one in his family had blue eyes. Not his parents, not his siblings, not his cousins… no one but his grandmother. They were the only pairs of blue eyes among brown and black pairs. And he was confident that biology doesn’t work like that.

His mind drifted to other memories of her. 

================================

The end of the stone path led them to a large circular area. The trees rounded around the patch of blue green grass, seemingly glowing in the dark night. 

The young child stared in awe as his grandmother stepped on the grass. He watched curiously as she walked to the center of the area. The woman glanced over her shoulder, beckoning him to follow her.

The little boy’s feet sprinted to close the distance between him and his grandmother. They continued to walk on the glowing grass until coming to an abrupt stop in the center of the area.

She gave a knowing look to her grandson, a smile plastered on her face. “Do you want to see something absolutely stellar?” The young boy nodded in excitement. 

She gave out a short laugh before looking at the empty space in front of her, the trees in a short distance away from the two. She had straightened her right arm, making it have a diagonal position from the rest of her body.

The index and middle finger of her clenched fist stuck out as she sliced the air in front of her. As she did so, a crescent shaped blast of energy flew towards the trees in front of them. She threw the same hand in front of her, stopping the energy blast from cutting through the trees.

She glanced at the young boy, staring in her simple attack in such amazement. She felt her smile grow even wider as she threw her hand up to the sky. The white crescent followed suit, shooting up to the sky. 

She then clenched her fist fully, the action making the crescent burst into tiny particles- raining down on her and her grandchild. He laughed playfully as he danced in the pure white particles.

“I wanna learn how to do tha! Can I?” 

She laughed at his new-found energy. The innocence and excitement of a young child is one of the best things to see on Earth. And she knew that all too well.

“Of course, you can, my sweet little star. Luna has her eyes on you”

=========

What did the moon see in him? Out of all the paladins, he was the weakest. He was the weakest in both strength and intelligence. Sure, he had his aim, but anybody can learn how to shoot. Unlike everyone, he doesn’t have a thing.

He felt blue purr at the back of his mind. Her purrs tried to reassure her paladin of his place in the team. That he and he alone is her paladin. Lance smiled and sent her a feeling of appreciation. 

The blue lion pawed on the same memory he just remembered. The one where he learned about his grandmother’s true calling and her capabilities. The first time she had shown him ‘magic’.

“What about it, blue?” He asked in the cold empty room, his voice breaking the silent atmosphere around him. 

She only continued to paw at the memory, playing with it while trying to shove it in his face at the same time. His mind seemed to catch up on what he was doing while he was spacing out- feeling his hands play with the gem unconsciously.

It all at once clicked, sitting up in realization. “Waaaait a minute,” He said as he stood up, pacing the small space. His fist clenched the small gem tightly as he wondered the room. 

“If she can do it… why can’t I?” His eyes darted around the room, landing on the satchel that laid next on to the rolls of fabric. He ran up to the bag, kneeling down to open it. He pulled out the three books he bought from Aurelia. His eyes locked especially on the book with the blue crescent on the cover. 

He bought these books for curiosity’s sake. He wanted to learn his grandmother’s craft for fun. But now that he had the time to think about it, this can be something greater. 

He stood back on his feet, his eyes now set on the rolls of fabric. A determined smile spread across his face. 

This. This can be his thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAP WILL BE BETTER I SWEAR


	3. Chapter 3: Show off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another mission.  
> Another mission, another fight.  
> Another fight, another appearance from the cloaked du- wait what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My writing is shit in this one.
> 
> Okay, let me explain myself.
> 
> So I go through this process before writing.  
> I find another fanfiction and I read it (obviously)
> 
> It entirely depends on how good it was written for me to get in the proper mindset to write normally.
> 
> I read something good, I'll write something (kinda) good.  
> I read shit, I write shit.  
> I read sin, I write sin. (jk, there's no smut in this fanfiction)

The sound of a firm hand hitting flesh flashed across the room, followed by a sudden thump. The Cuban man towered over the helpless woman, who clutched her cheek as she laid on the ground from the sudden impact. 

The man’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the fallen figure. “How dare you pollute my son’s head with your WITCH BULLSHIT!” The woman flinched from the sudden raise of voice. She gritted her teeth as she looked up to look at her attacker.

His hand was still stretched out after back-handing his mother-in-law. Behind him, another woman held her crying son, keeping him from running to his grandmother and protecting her from the man he called a father. Tears streamed down his face as he desperately tried to fight off his mother’s grip.

His mother held onto the five-year-old with an iron grip, his tears dripping onto her arms. The child flailed his tiny hands. “Papa! Stop!” The man didn’t react to his son’s begging and sobbing. 

“Stay away from my son. Stay away from my children. STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY,” The man kicked the injured senior in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her chest. She coughed, her arms wrapped around her abdomen. 

The woman looked at her daughter desperately but was given a disappointed shake of head instead. “Mama… please you need to stop this,” the woman said, not bothering to hide the disappointment on her look. 

The young child thrashed harder in her arms from the comment. The man, unfazed from the louder screams from his oldest son, walked towards the old woman with clenched fists on his sides. 

He grabbed the woman by her hair, lifting her up like a rag doll. The two made eye contact, the man’s eyes filled with fury as the woman had a stern look.

“WE SHOULD HAVE SENT YOU TO A MENTAL ASYLUM WHEN WE HAD THE CHANCE”

=============

“PIDGE, HURRY UP AND GET BACK OUT HERE. HUNK, KEITH; TAKE DOWN THE INCOMING GALRA SHIPS. LANCE, TAKE DOWN THE ONES ON GROUND. I’LL TAKE DOWN THE BASE.”

“On my way!”

“Roger that.”

“Yes sir”

“You got it.”

The lions blasted through the sky, piloting towards different areas of the planet. The blue lion started to attack the ships that had made their way to the ground with her tail laser, destroying every escape method the Galra had to get off the planet.

The yellow and red lions shot up, attacking the Galran fighters that dared near the planet’s atmosphere. Continuous explosions erupted through the air as the lions fired.

The black lion glided through the war, jaw blade ready as it made its way to the central control base of the Galra that took control.

The green lion took off as soon as the black cat was in a considerable distance, flying out of the scene. It joined the two other lions in the sky, blasting the flying ships into smithereens. 

The castle was at a distance, Allura and Coran flying in two separate pods as they gathered and helped as many of the natives as they could. 

Team Voltron were in the middle of liberating another Galra-enslaved planet. However, with this being one of the main bases of the empire; Pidge decided to download as much information as she could from the building before destroying it.

Lance destroyed the last of the parked Galran machines, hearing the final blast of the last ship. However, thousands of sentries and flesh-and-blood Galran soldiers had already invaded the planet, all headed towards the far away city.

Thinking fast, he piloted his lion towards the boundary of the city. The mechanical cat blasted a wall made entirely out of ice, protecting the civilians from the upcoming crowd of robots and soldiers.

The lion’s tail lit up as it started to blast the black dots that tried to break down the ice barricade. Flashes of blue hit the planet’s surface, instantly getting rid of them.

Continuous explosions littered the planet as the blue paladin continued to shoot, stopping only when he can barely see a few crowds left. It should be easy enough to take them down by himself, considering the fact that they were so little in numbers. 

He can take all of them down bare-handed.

=====

The red paladin relaxed in his seat as he heard the last of the fighter ships blast into bits. The iron grip he had on his controls loosened once he heard the cheering of his teammates through the comms.

“Good job team,” Shiro congratulated, his smile can easily be heard through his helmet, “Now let’s go back down to check on the locals.” 

The paladins obliged, drifting their lions closer to the surface. The blue lion had already landed on the ground, particle barrier up as she sat in front of a barrier of ice. Keith was going to point it out when-

“Hey- “Hunk’s voice rang out, startling his teammates. “-It’s that man again!” The others directed their gazes to the surface below them. Sure enough, they could see the white crescent blasts of energy flash on the ground.

A cloaked figure dodged the bright purple blasts the soldiers shot at him, sending more of the white energy to cut through their bodies. Groups of his attackers fell one herd at a time, every member having been sliced in half brutally.

The figure reduced their numbers into zero in a matter of ticks. He seemed to have only good intentions in mind, but Pidge wasn’t having any of it. 

“THAT SHOW-OFF IS BACK!?” She growled out before pushing her control sticks forward, the green lion shooting itself back on the surface. She could feel her blood pressure rise up as she dove down to the ground.

The green lion landed on the ground, the lions dropping to the ground not long after. Their heads lowered to the ground, their jaws dropping to let their respective pilots out. 

They all ran out to see the figure on top of one of the stray scraps of the fighter ships. Towering over the paladins, his black cloak swayed in the harsh wind. 

The paladins could feel his eyes scan their figures, even if they could barely see his face thanks to the hood he had over his head. The only thing they were sure of was that the figure had bright blue eyes, eyes that glow whenever he would attack.

Once the wind settled, the cloak fixed itself on its owner. They could see his blue outfit underneath the black fabric. A blue shirt, a black belt that supported black leggings, and blue boots could be seen underneath the cloak.

If you looked really closely, you can see the black satchel that was camouflaged beneath his cloak. He also had other accessories too, like the moon button that seemed to button the cape just below his chin, and the blue gem necklace that hung around his neck.

They had seen this man around many times, appearing on every mission they were on lately. He had single-handedly taken down crowds of sentries and Galra, making their missions so much quicker. 

“Uh…,” Shiro broke the silence, trying to edge up into a conversation. The figure didn’t even flinch at the sound of his voice. “We’re not your enemies!”

The man didn’t bother to reply to Shiro’s statement before jumping backwards, disappearing into thin air; much like a druid. There was a significant difference though. While druids disappeared into black particles, their cloaked ally faded into white particles.

The team exchanged looks, Pidge in particular having an irritated glare towards the black paladin. “‘We’re not your enemies’,” Pidge said mockingly, the tone in her voice mocking his words. “Yeah, no shit sherlock!”

“Yeah…,” The yellow paladin piped up, “I’m pretty sure he knows we’re not his enemies. He does help us out a lot.” 

Keith crossed his arms, “I don’t trust him. We can’t put our faith in someone we haven’t even seen the face of. Who knows, he might be a Galran spy trying to get us to lower our guard around him.”

“Wait, then why would he kill so many of his own kind? If he really is Galra, shouldn’t he be working against us instead of with us? What if he’s part of the blade?” Hunk’s shoulders raised as he gave out a shrug.

Keith stepped forward, his arms dropping as he made eye contact with Hunk. “He isn’t part of the blade of Marmora, Hunk. I, out of everyone here, would know.” His eyes narrowed as he glared at the larger male.

He quickly raised his arms in surrender. “Yeah, yeah. You’re right!” Hunk said, rushing from the sudden pressure bestowed upon him by his teammate. He was never one for confrontation.

Pidge turned to Shiro, ready to ask his opinion on the man when-

“DEAR GOD, LANCE!” She exclaimed as she saw the blue paladin stand behind their leader, his relaxed face doing nothing from calming the green paladin down. Everyone’s heads turned to where Pidge pointed. 

Shiro stared at his teammate in confusion. “Lance? When did you…?” Shiro raised an eyebrow to him. The sudden appearance of his teammate, especially behind his back, gave him some horror movie vibes right on the spot.

“What are you talking about? I was here the entire time.” Lance shrugged. The rest of the team didn’t seem to buy it, but then again- they did give him enough time to slither into the group unnoticed thanks to their full attention on the figure.

Pidge, despite still being unnerved, took a steady breath. “Alrighty, are you going to give your 2 cents on our mysterious assassin?” She said it in both a ‘I don’t really give a damn’ and ‘I’m genuinely curious’ tone somehow.

Lance shrugged. “I don’t really trust him. Like Keith said, he could just be some spy. I don’t really like the idea of trusting someone who looks a lot like the Grim reaper.” A bored expression displayed on his face.

Everyone eased at the nonchalant tone the paladin used. He was against trusting the man but wasn’t too serious about it. They needed some leverage of easiness for their current situation.

“I don’t trust him, too.” All eyes were on Shiro as he stepped forward. “But he’ll make a good ally if he truly is on our side…” For some reason, their confident leader was unsure of himself. 

Noticing the looks of concern plastered on the faces of his teammates, Shiro tried to wave them off. “He just reminds me too much of the druids, that’s all.” He said it in such a nervous manner that it only worsened the tense atmosphere around them.

==============

“I do not trust this stranger.” Allura paced around the room, her ears practically blowing out steam. “Yes, he has been helping us a huge lot in these past few mission; but keeping his identity secret can mean no good.”

The tapping of her heels hitting the metal floor stopped. She raised her head to look at the humans, her face etched in fear and worry. “He has quintessence in his side. He has to be part of the Galra. There is no other way for someone to obtain that kind of power.”

Clearly, someone hasn’t been paying attention in her classes before the war. The Cuban tucked his hands into his jacket pockets, his thumbs sticking out. He really wanted to tell how wrong the princess was. 

Quintessence is a form of ‘life energy’ as she had said before. So clearly, anybody with the right amount of quintessence can attack with it. And with the lunar energy he’s constantly getting from the small rock that his fingertips brushed in his pocket, he had more than enough.

If only he knew everything he needed (and somewhat wanted) to know about his new powers. Like how every superhero he has ever seen already knew what they could do. He doesn’t know the heights of his abilities, nor the limits to his powers. If only his grandmother were still alive.

“Hey Pidge,” The girl turned to Hunk, who looked at her quizzically. “Why do you hate this guy so much? He hasn’t really done anything to make you hate him the way you do.”

Pidge grunted and turned away, crossing her arms in a small fit. “He thinks he can just waltz his way into the battlefield and attack! And he just stands above us like he’s top shit!” She waved her hands around in unexpressed anger.

Lance could barely hold in the sudden burst of laughter that spiked in his throat. But with all the effort in that split of a tick, he made a small snort sound. His mind caught on faster than the others, quickly adding some sort of phrase that made its way out of his mouth.

“Yeah, he really does.” He thanked Luna for whatever luck he has received today as no one paid him mind. They didn’t know that the reason why their mysterious ally did those things after battle was because of two reasons;

1\. He was positive that someone would tackle him or remove his hood from behind.

2\. He had to rest for around a dobashe before actually teleporting away.

Disappearing from one place and appearing in another was way more tiring than how the druids did it. They looked like it was as easy as breathing. And here he was breathing and falling over like he just ran a marathon.

His grandmother would do it often, too. From sweeping the patio to baking witch hat cookies in a matter of milliseconds. He missed her witch cookies. Maybe he could bake some? He’s had to bake before, since he lived in a large family.

Little siblings? More like little spawns of hell-

=========

He never really slept much. Not since he got the Chandrakant stone. With the extra quintessence that flowed freely in his veins, he’d only sleep if he either had to teleport really far away (it happened twice now) or if he actually wanted to.

His feet made weird tapping noises through out the hallway. The tapping noises weren’t as loud as Allura’s heels, so he was confident that no one would be coming out of their rooms to complain about his wondering any time soon.

The blue paladin always found himself in front of the blue lion when his mind went off to ‘wonder mode’. And considering the events that transpired in his life lately, he didn’t even bother think of it as weird.

He went up to her front right claw and dropped in front of it, his back leaning onto the cold metal surface of the mechanical cat. He sat there for probably hours, or maybe it’s been only 2 dobashes and his mind was just overexaggerating. 

He really didn’t care at this point.


	4. Chapter 4: Summons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance expands more on his powers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is better written than the previous one. 
> 
> But idk, it might still be shit. 
> 
> i HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY

“My child! What are you doing back here? Didn’t Mateo- oof!” The woman’s worried rambling was cut off when the small child ran into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. The woman was in sheer shock of the situation, but given a few seconds, she quickly gathered the young boy in her arms.

 

Lance buried his tiny face onto her neck, letting the tears soak through her clothes. “Why did papa hit you? He gave you bruise!” The witch would have chuckled at the grammar mistake of the tiny Cuban if not given the situation.

 

She held the boy tighter, trying to ease his sorrow. “Child, people don’t understand what we can do. They get scared of things they don’t understand. And things they don’t understand; they try to get rid of.” 

 

The woman looked around them for any sign of family on their way to save the crying child from the supposed ‘crazy woman’ they claim her to be. How disheartening it is to see your own daughter fear for her and others’ lives because of you. If only Luna had chosen her, too- then she would understand.

 

She married a good man, though. He would protect her children no matter what. That was why he attacked her, he thought she was ‘polluting his son’s mind with witch bullshit’. How primitive.

 

She stood up from her place on the ground, the young child still sobbing in her arms. His sobs have died down to tiny little hiccups and the stream of tears that hit her neck seemed to cease as well. “Would you like to see something stellar, my star?”

 

She felt his head nod in agreement, feeling almost hesitant. She gave a small smile, unseen by the boy, before walking out of the door. The quiet ambiance of the forest around them seemed too peaceful. No rushing footsteps or screams of worry anywhere.

 

The young child must’ve sneaked out of the house and ran all the way here. That was impressive in itself, seeing it was a good 30-minute jog here. Maybe he brought his bicycle? Hopefully he wore his helmet while he traveled here. 

 

The oh-so familiar scenery of the blue-green glowing grass sat in front of the two. Lance turned his head out of his grandmother’s neck and looked at the unnatural scene in front of him. He turned his face to meet his grandmother’s eyes, their eyes greeting each other. 

 

“Why are we here?” He asked as he tilted his head to the side out of curiosity. The woman smiled softly at the boy, letting his stress go down. 

 

“Like I said-” she bent over and placed the tiny child on the grassy plains, “- You’ll be seeing something stellar.” She grabbed a long branch that seemed to have broken off from the tree next to the stone path they were on. 

 

With the stick in hand, she walked towards the center of the round grassy area. The boy dropped to the ground, his legs crisscrossing while his elbows were planted on his knees. His chin rested on both of his hands, watching the old woman curiously.

 

She grabbed a small pouch from her dress pocket, seemingly unnoticeable to the naked eye, and opened it. One of the stick’s ends was then dipped into the pouch, coming out with bright blue powder sticking into it. 

 

She secured the small bag back into her hidden dress pocket before she began spinning the stick around. The powder glowed in the darkness, above the short light of the grass below her. The stick was then dragged along the grass, the woman careful not to leave too much damage to the leaves.

 

The powder seemed to stick to the grass, like pen to paper. The woman danced gracefully as she continued to move the staff around. She moved gracefully around the circle area, drawing lines and weird symbols on the grass.

 

Lance couldn’t take his eyes off the way her movements seemed so in sync with the ambient noises around her, the stick losing its glow with each passing moment as the powder was decreased little by little. 

 

With the final symbol drawn, she threw the stick to the sidelines, as far away from the circle as possible. She turned to her grandson and gave a small wink accompanied with a sly smirk. 

 

The woman slowly raised her hand in front of her. Her eyes still locked onto the toddler with the same smirk as the powder on the ground began to glow a much brighter blue- stronger than the blue-green light the grass immitted. The grass’ light held no competition against the blue powder.

 

The Cuban child yelped in surprise as the powder seemed to rise up, swirling around the woman. “Granny!” The young boy knew that his grandmother was fully aware of what was happening; but that didn’t stop him from crying for his grandmother.

 

The glowing blue dust have turned into a sphere, morphing into a shape. It took a moment for him to realize it was turning into the shape of a bird, its final features carved onto its blue skin as it cawed above the grandmother.

 

The woman’s cocky grin was still on her face, watching the excitement of her grandson radiate from his face. The bird softly landed behind her, flapping it’s wings to show dominance. 

 

The young boy came running to her, almost tripping on his own feet. “Granny! That was awesome!” He stopped in front of her and his gaze worked up to meet the bird’s. “Can I touch it?”

 

The woman laughed before turning to the bird and giving a nod. The bird courteously bowed its head, letting the young child pet it’s beak. “Is it a him or a her?” The woman smiled. She liked the fact that her grandson asked immediately for its gender.

 

“She’s a girl. Her name is Ivory.” The bird’s beak nuzzled in the young boy’s hand, earning playful giggling on his behalf.

 

“That’s a beautiful name!”

 

_I like this child._

 

She felt the bird give her a happy look as the boy hugged her beak. “Thank you, she says she likes you.” The boy froze in place, his giggling stopping. He turned to her, amazement glittering in his eyes.

 

“YOU CAN TALK TO HER?!”

 

The woman and Ivory looked at the child, knowing smiles showing on their features. “Does that mean she picked her name? You have a really nice taste in names, miss Ivory!” The bird only nuzzled her huge beak on his small cheek. 

 

_I like this child a lot. Keep him. Please Anna?_

 

Anna shook her head with another laugh. “What is she, granny? Because she can’t possibly be a normal bird! She’s way too majestic to be like any normal bird!” Despite his age, his compliments and flattery surpassed an adult man’s by a mile.

 

_KEEEEEP HIIIIIM ANNAAAA!!! I WANT THIS CHILD!!! I LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY HEART!!!_

 

She knelt down to meet her grandson’s eyes. 

 

=============

 

Lance had his eyes locked on the book, sitting on the middle of the floor. The only light provided for him was his necklace- the Chandrakant gem that hung on his neck by a silver chain. It gave off enough light to let him read. 

 

The blue gem served more than an energy source to him. It also served as a translator for him, letting every symbol he sees automatically decipher in his mind as words. 

 

He looked at the different symbols and sigils that were illustrated on the book. He was nervous, to say the least.

 

This was going to be his first time summoning his first summon.

 

Finishing his blueprint on a piece of paper, he sprung up on his feet and placed his book on his bed. He grabbed every single thing that was on the metal ground and placed them on his mattress.

 

The extra pieces of fabric? On the bed.

 

His witch disguise? Spread across the sheets to avoid wrinkles.

 

His satchel?

 

…

 

Yeet.

 

He grabbed the fist-sized bag from on top of the soft mattress and opened it. The contents of the bag glowed in the dark light, a white light with a slight tint of blue hitting his face. He dipped his index finger inside, lifting it up to see the powder sticking onto his finger.

 

He started to go around the room, drawing a circle as big as the room could allow. After finishing that, he went to work; copying the blueprint he made onto the floor. Symbols and lines spewed onto the ground, the light from both the dust and his necklace serving as his only guide to not step on his illustrations.

 

Within a minute, he was able to complete the sigil. The circle had branches of lines inside of it, various symbols littering inside the drawing. With careful steps, he made his way to the door, the only area with enough space to let him stand without having the risk on ruining his spell.

 

He raised his hand in front of him, taking a deep breath as he felt the energy of the necklace flow within him. He focused on his summon and watched as the powder began to slowly rise. It began to circle around the room, forming a sphere. Its light lit the room, almost blinding Lance. 

 

But he couldn’t afford to let his eyes fall. He wanted to see his first summon attempt, whether it fails or not. The orb began to create dents and bulges upon itself, forming into its desired shape. The Cuban watched as the orb slowly evolved into a wolf. It’s final features finishing upon itself as the two made eye contact.

 

_Greetings, master. My name is Dakota. I am honored to be your first summon._

 

As the wolf’s final touches were finished, it bowed to the human. Lance looked at his summon, in shock before shaking it off. He returned the bow to the glowing animal.

 

_My, my. I am pleased to see that my young master is a gentleman._

 

“My name is Lance Mcclain. I believe respect and trust come in both ways. As your summoner, I wish for you to not see me as your master nor your leader, but as a friend with your full loyalty and trust.” The words slipped out of the witch’s mouth before he could realize. Since when did he become so diplomatic?

 

Dakota raised his head, standing fiercely and confidently in front of his summoner. Lance followed suit, his back straighter than usual as he looked at him dead in the eye. There was an awkward beat of silence before Dakota replied.

 

_Thank you, my friend. I shall be by your side no matter what._

 

“And thank you, too-“

 

========================

 

The red paladin made his way across the halls of the castle. Worry was weighing down his shoulders as he trudged closer to where the bed rooms were found. His mind was swimming with a million thoughts, all about the same person.

 

Lance wasn’t acting like his usual self. He was much more quiet- but no one else seemed to notice. Maybe it was because he wasn’t completely quiet? He still chatted out a storm, but it was more like a rainstorm. It also seemed… forced. Like his mind was somewhere else.

 

Another problem was that every time he had the chance to leave to go back into his room, he’d take it without a second thought. Hell, he only talked to the others if he had to or if he was forced to be in the same room. That didn’t seem like something Lance would do.

 

And the fact that his eyes had tired eyebags underneath showed he doesn’t get any sleep. It was much worse than Pidge’s, and she sleeps for around 3-4 hours per day! And Lance would be complaining about how it ruins his perfect skin.

 

Keith was worried. And he wanted to see what was wrong with his fellow paladin. He had a few hunches, though. He could be homesick, like usual. He could be playing the video game he and Pidge bought. Or he could be worrying about his insecurities.

 

He wasn’t sure what those insecurities were, but he swears to himself that he’ll chase them away for Lance. He’d chase away his demons with nothing but his bare fists if he had to.

 

Finally stopping in front of his door, his hand grazed in front of the control panel. It wasn’t locked. He pressed a button, hearing the woosh sound of the door opening. 

 

“….ank you, too-“

 

Lance whipped around and his blue ocean eyes met lilac ones. “KEITH!” He rushed out, putting on an obviously forced smile. However, his eyes weren’t on Lance’s eyes anymore. And Lance knew this.

 

“Uh…. You know you have really beautiful eyes.”

 

“Your compliments won’t distract me from the giant glowing wolf behind you, Mcclain.”

 

Lance, in a struck of panic, quickly snatched Keith’s wrist and pulled him in. He didn’t want anybody else to add in to the situation. Lance pulled up to the control panel and made sure to lock the door. 

 

He turned to see the two other life forms in the room glare each other down, ready to attack at any given moment. The tension in the room was so thick, Keith could probably slice through it.

 

_I don’t trust this man, Lance. I’m attacking him._

 

Dakota gave out a low growl, readying to pounce himself onto the half Galran. “”WAIT NONONONONONO. DAKOTA, PLEASE DON’T!” Lance squeezed himself in between the two to calm the giant animal down. He kneeled down to meet his gaze from his stance and placed his hand on his snout. “Please don’t attack him.” 

 

Dakota seemed to ease himself, following Lance’s orders. He slowly rose up and sat down, much like a police dog glaring at a suspect. And that suspect so happened to be the red paladin. 

 

Lance too a steady sigh before turning to face Keith. The boy was looking at the wolf, his blade still ready at hand. “Keith. Put the knife down and I’ll explain everything.”

 

Keith spared him a suspicious glance before slowly turning the knife back to his back holder. Lance sighed in relief. “Now explain.” Keith’s glance was locked onto Lance as he sat down on his bed. He could faintly see a familiar shape next to him. 

 

With the light from Dakota, Keith was able to see the pieces of clothing that laid neatly next to the blue paladin. The same one their cloaked ally would appear in. Which meant…

 

“LANCE, YOU’RE THE-“

 

Lance shot up and covered his mouth. Catching onto the situation quickly, he tried to ease the mullet. “Yeah, yeah. I’m the dude.” Keith, after taking a few seconds to process the new information, glared at the Cuban.

 

He grabbed the wrist of the hand that silenced him and brought it down. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Lance felt the hurt in the tone in Keith’s voice stab him through the heart. This should be fun to explain.

 

He pulled his hand out of Keith’s grip and sat back down on the bed. He gestured for Keith to do the same. When the latter crossed his arms in response, Lance just accepted his defeat and took another steady breath.

 

“Listen, I was going to tell you guys. I just haven’t found the right time, you know? With Lotor on the rise and him taking over planets we just liberated; everyone’s stressed. I didn’t want to disturb everyone’s focus on…”

 

His hand waved to gesture to the clothes and Dakota, his message clear. “…This.” His hand steadied him as he leant backward.

 

Keith could see where his teammate was going at. Everyone was stressed. He didn’t want to add on. Still, he had unanswered questions he’d like answers to. And one was the more important than the others. “How… were you able to do that?”

 

The Cuban subconsciously went to caress the blue gem that hung around his neck, the pendant glowing from the contact of its wearer. Purple eyes locked onto the necklace, realization hitting him in the face. “The gem. It gives you powers?”

 

“Not exactly…” His eyes were locked on the gem in his fingers. “If you want to oversimplify it, you can say it gives me energy to use my powers.” Keith raised his eye brow. “It’s a long story…” Lance wanted to get out of telling the story but seeing as to how Keith turned to sit down next to him on the bed; he figured there was no backing out of it.

 

“When I was young, my grandmother was what people would call a witch. More specifically, a lunar witch. She gets energy from the moon. From everything I’ve learned though, I can tell that its because of her quintessence. Like how Haggar can use dark quintessence because she was exposed to it; my grandmother was exposed to quintessence that somehow involved with lunar energy”

 

The glow seemed to grow brighter from the mention of said energy. The red paladin felt his heart stopped. “She EXPOSED you to quintessence!?” Dakota flinched from the volume of his voice. Thank Luna the walls were soundproof.

 

Lance shifted uncomfortably, readying to give information he was sure the half-galran would explode at. “She may have… gotten me… to drink it- “. “WAIT WHAT!?” 

 

Again, thank Luna the walls were soundproof. 

 

“You DRANK quintessence. QUINTESSENCE!?”

 

“I was a kid, what did you expect?!”

 

“I’d expect you to WONDER WHAT IT WAS!”

 

Dakota watched as the two paladins argued over the topic. Their childish bickering turned to throwing insults at each other, but he could tell they weren’t sincere. He gave out a short laugh, quickly noticed by his friend.

 

“What’s so funny, Dakota?” Lance asked as he glared down the wolf. The summon moved from his sitting position to lay down on the ground, his gaze locked smugly with the blue paladin.

 

_Nothing, Lance._

 

“Oh no! You were clearly laughing at something!”

 

_Well, I’m not laughing anymore._

 

“Don’t you sass me, young man!”

 

_I’m a thousand decades older than you, my friend. ___

__

__“Yeah, but- “_ _

__

__“What the quiznack?”_ _

__

__They both turned to the red paladin, who looked at the confused. “You. Can. Talk. To. It?!”_ _

__

___It? Who does this human think he is?!_ _ _

__

__“Dakota, calm down” The Cuban spat out as soon as he noticed the wolf summon rise from his position on the ground. Dakota laid back down hesitantly, his angry gaze locked on Keith._ _

__

__Lance, too, turned to Keith. “Okay, 1, yes I can talk to him. 2, Dakota is a male. 3, He’s angry at you. So, calm down if you don’t want your head to get bitten off.”_ _

__

__Keith, with a huff, shifted to a bit. “Alright, can you tell me more about that… gem of yours?” Keith looked at the glowing blue gem._ _

__

__Lance gave a short nod to him. “This gem is called Chandrakant. An extremely rare gem only found in Crioli’s moon, Enriol. It has the strongest lunar energy in the entire known universe. Only a few Alteans and aliens with the compatible quintessence could use the gems’ energy._ _

__

__The moon and planet were destroyed, though. Haggar’s quintessence wasn’t compatible with the lunar energy, so the Galran empire destroyed both the planet and its moon. I’m not sure if they bothered to get some of the gems before they destroyed it, but I doubt it. I haven’t felt any before. But there’s always a chance.”_ _

__

__Keith gave a short nod. A beat a silence soon followed. It was a comforting silence. A short time span to help the red paladin contemplate the new information. It’s overwhelming, to say the least._ _

__

__“I’m glad it was you.”_ _

__

__He snapped his head to the Cuban, who offered a small smile. “I mean, if it were somebody else- I’d be dead meat. If Hunk found out, he’d be interrogating me none stop, Pidge would be experimenting on me and my gem, Allura would probably train me to death, Coran would most likely snitch to Allura, and Shiro wouldn’t hesitate to tell everybody else. Just…”_ _

__

__His eyes shone with sincerity and it made the red paladin feel so vulnerable. “I’m glad it was you.” How long had it been since someone trusted him with valuable information? Information that only he was trusted with?_ _

__

__It was nice to know Lance trusts him._ _

__

__“You won’t tell anyone else, right?” There was genuine fear in his voice. No. he would never betray him._ _

__

__“Your secret’s safe with me.”_ _

__

__“Good, cuz I don’t want you snitching on me.” Lance’s cocky tone returned to his voice. He turned to punch Keith in the arm. It was nice to see him back to normal._ _

__

__Keith turned to Dakota, who was still observing them. He carefully stood up and stepped towards the beast. He knelt down and placed his palm on his head. “I’m sorry if I offended you Dakota. And I’m sorry I tried to attack you. I just wanted to protect Lance.”_ _

__

__Dakota nuzzled into Keith’s touch. His fur tickled his wrist as he let out a pleasant growl._ _

__

___I also apologize for almost attacking you, Keith. I wanted to protect Lance as well._ _ _

__

__Lance smiled, at the scene. “He says he’s sorry for attacking you, too,” Lance informed. Keith gave the wolf a small pat before standing back up._ _

__

__“I promise you Lance, my lips are sealed"_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again; idk if this is shit or not.


	5. Chapter 5: Video footage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She frowned at him, not like it wasn’t normal. Never had he seen a smile on her face. And he would be thankful to the ancients if he never did. “I have news that might interest you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is shit, sorry guys

Phoebs. (Months)

Phoebs had passed since the stranger in the black cloak had made his first appearance. A man who bore the unique and rare gift of Lunar- exposed quintessence. It’s a shame he was fighting for a lost cause. The Galra empire shall dominate over this universe, bend every single planet to their will and crush Voltron once and for all. 

Lotor will make sure of it.

The lighting tapping sound of his boots on the black metal ground echoed throughout the hallways. He passed by troops of patrolling sentries and Galra soldiers, not a single glance at their direction did he spare as they passed each other. 

Endless turns and corners he passed until he finally reached the bridge. The part of the main command ship that he spent most of his time destroying planets and ruining lives. All with the solace of his generals. Four half galrans just like himself- half of their other blood belonged to extinct species crushed by the empire long ago.

But as the doors slid open and he stepped inside, he found a fifth woman in the room. A scowl reached his face as he recognized the hunched cloaked figure immediately. “Haggar,” He spat with as much venom as he could muster.

The old hag returned the scowl the tick she realized he was in the room. “Prince Lotor.” Her icy cold tone competed with the venom of his original remark. Lotor and Haggar never had been in good terms with one another. And they were happy to keep it that way. They hated every single thing about the other.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of having you here in my working quarters? Can you not tell I am busy working on spreading the reach of the empire and destroying Voltron?” Lotor raised his eyebrow at the woman. 

She frowned at him, not like it wasn’t normal. Never had he seen a smile on her face. And he would be thankful to the ancients if he never did. “I have news that might interest you, “She walked over to the control panel at the far front of the room- pressing a few buttons on the holographic keyboard.

A video feed of the man in the black cloak appeared. Going through the air as he dodged the bullets, throwing crescents of his own attacks. Lotor must admit that he had quick reflexes, though the speed of his attacks and the way he advanced could have improvement.

Haggar pressed on the keyboard, switching the previous video footage with a newer and more recent one. It was with the same man again, but he fought alongside the red paladin. The cloaked figure was keeping his sentries at bay (and by that, he meant completely destroying them) while the red paladin continued to free the prisoners hauled up in their cells.

He remembered when he got the report about this incident from one of the commanders. He was trembling in fear as he stood in front of him, while he sat casually on his throne. He had fled the scene, leaving all responsibility and honor behind. It was disappointing to say the least. At least Haggar has a new test subject now.

The alchemist faced the prince. “We believe we may have figured out who their new ally is. We also have reason to believe that only the red paladin has any connections to him, seeing as though through our feeds; he has only ever worked or talked along side with him. So, the other members may be as clueless as we are about his identity.”

She switched to another video. It showed the five paladins running through the unguarded hallways. The green paladin must have hacked through the sentries, since they passed by unharmed but limp bodies of robots. Once they reached an intersection, they had split into different directions.

The yellow and green paladin went to the bridge, probably to hack into their files. The black paladin ran into the direction of the Level 1 prison cells, a place where the leaders and royal families of captured planets are caged in. And lastly, the blue and red paladins ran to Level 2 prison cells, where-

Wait.

The witch seemed to have noticed the sudden change of expression of the Prince’s face since she continued on. “The blue and red paladin were supposed to be freeing the prisoners on Level 2. However, it showed the red paladin and the stranger. I believe you can piece everything together from there.” She narrowed her eyes as she noticed Ezor’s uncertain gaze. “And if that is not enough evidence for you…”

She turned and clicked a few more buttons, switching to different video feeds. From different Voltron missions he had made appearances in; rescue missions, information gathering, and many others. And if Lotor remembered correctly, there was no report of him outside of Voltron missions. Once he has done with his assistance, he teleports away. 

And in each mission, the blue paladin was no where near the other the team.

Which only meant. “The blue paladin and the cloaked man are the same person. All the evidence points to it,” Lotor stated with finality. 

“But why would Mr. Blue disguise himself as the Moon witch? Shouldn’t he have told them what he was capable of?” Ezor piped up, using her nicknames and chatter to lift the tension of the room. It was always too serious when Haggar is in the same room as him. 

Axca raised an eyebrow. “Probably because the Galra could find out the blue paladin can wield rare quintessence if he used it in his paladin armor?”

Zethrid huffed at the blue alien’s hypothesis with a grin. “But then team Voltron should still know. I think he was just scared of his strength. What a wimp.” She crossed her arms at the last part of her sentence.

“Then he wouldn’t use it at all!” Axca countered, looking at Zethrid like she was the biggest imbecile in the universe. That’s probably what she sees in her, though.

Narti stood silent, Kova purring slightly on the crook of her neck as she curled on her owner’s shoulders. She was a silent yet deadly asset. Extremely important to their team. All of them were. His generals were like a second family, and he trusts them with the universe.

Ezor waved her arms in between the two, who were both glaring at each other with great intensity. “Hey Hey Hey! Yeah, maybe it wasn’t because of that but there has to be a reason! We don’t need a cat fight in our hands, ladies!”

The two averted their gaze at each other and aimed it towards their pink comrade, who wore a reassuring grin. They stared at her before turning their gaze back to the prince.

Haggar chuckled. “I believe I have the answer to that question.” A few beep noises rang through the air before an audio file was turned on. It was a few dobashes of the paladins communicating through the comms. All about their masked comrade.

(I’m just gonna label who it is who’s talking :3 )

Shiro: “Lance, Keith! Hurry up, we’re surrounded!”

Hunk: “I CAN’T HOLD THEM OFF FOR MUCH LONGER! *rapid bullet fire*”

Pidge: “FuUuUuUcK!”

Keith: “We’re on our way!”

Hunk: “Is Lance with you? Why isn’t he responding?! *More rapid bullet fire*”

Keith: “Y-yeah but for some reason he can’t get through the comms. We’re headed your way, though.”

Hunk: “A-are you- “

Pidge: “OH, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING WITH ME!”

Hunk: “He’s back!”

Shiro: “Oh, thank god.”

Keith: “Who?’

Hunk: “Him!”

Sounds of sentries dropping to the ground echoed throughout the room. It continued for a few ticks before it became silent. Silence crept into the room for a dobashe. A whole dobashe before the green paladin spoke up.

Pidge: “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?”

Shiro: “Pidge!”

Hunk: “You’ll make him angry!”

Pidge: “I don’t give a shit! SHOW YOURSELF!”

Shiro: “Pidge, you’ll scare him…!”

Hunk: “Aaaand he’s gone.”

Pidge: ‘GOD DAMN IT ALL!”

Hunk: “Calm down…”

Pidge: “I’m not gonna calm down! This man is pulling on every nerve in my nervous system! Why won’t he show his face?!”

Shiro: “Pidge…”

Pidge: “I’M TELLING YOU! HE’S A DRUID! I’VE BEEN THEORIZING THIS FOR WEEKS. HOOD, POWERS, HE HAS IT ALL! WE CAN’T TRUST HIM!”

Hunk: “My ears…”

Keith: “Calm down, my ears are bleeding!”

Hunk: “Maybe he’s good…”

Pidge: “HE COULD BE GALRA!”

Keith: “Not all Galra are bad…”

Lance: “Yeah, geez Luis Pidgeon! Take a deep breath.”

Pidge: “THERE YOU ARE, LANCE! WE CAN’T TRUST THIS GUY!”

Shiro: “I’m starting to have my doubts about him too… Maybe he really could be a druid…”

Silence for a few more ticks came. The generals exchanged looks as they waited for more sound to come through.

Lance: “yeah, he seems pretty sketch.”

Keith: “I don’t trust him.”

Pidge: “Hunk?”

Hunk: “I-I don’t know…”

Pidge: “OH COME ON!”

Shiro: “We can talk about this later. Right now, we-“

The audio cuts off right there. Everyone stood there for a moment, processing it. Haggar turned back to face the prince. “As you can see, they have no trust in anyone who wields such power. Seeing the reaction that the Champion had made, maybe the blue paladin was scared of rejection.”

The proposal of the witch did seem logical enough. The fear of rejection for being who you are. The fear of not being accepted because of something you can’t control. That had been the main reason why he recruited his generals. They were half breeds, and they had no where to go. 

He, himself, faced it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 am? COOL TIME TO SLEEP!!!


	6. Chapter 6: Symbols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance expands more on his powers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, filler chapter for now!  
> I'm not feeling all that well

Lance’s tiny body sprawled on the blue green grass, his eyes tracing each star into a constellation. “Granny?” The little boy squeaked out as he gazed at the stars above him. The woman in question looked over in curiosity, eyebrow perking in interest.

“What is it, my child?” She asked, her hands still maneuvering their way for her to continue her knitting while she talked. The blue scarf weaving itself nicely as it grew in size slowly. Knitting is something that she and Lance loved to do, although Lance prefers sewing. It’s incredible how a five-year-old can learn so much already.

The little boy didn’t move from his position, too enthralled by the beauty of the little specks of light above him. “Can you tell me about Luna? And stories about the moon? Is there anything living on the moon?” She was fascinated how a boy his age was already so curious about Luna. It was nice, this generation may have hope after all.

She chuckled as she set her knitting materials down. “Alright, you better be listening closely, I won’t say the story twice.” The child’s head turned to the side to look at her, nodding vigorously in agreement. This brought a small smile on her face.

“Luna, the goddess of the moon, is typically considered to be a passionate goddess who loved life. She would take many lovers, but she was a loyal companion. Once she was paired with the sun god, Apollo, she remained forever faithful. They were very different, literally like night and day, but they loved each other very much. So, my child, find your sun. And cherish your sun for as long as you live.”

A grin spread through his face. “So, grandpapa was like your sun, Granny?” The little boy innocently asked. The woman froze in place. Him? Her sun? She closed her eyes as memories flashed through her head, memories of her sun and how she made everything possible for her. Her sun loved her. Yet she was too blind to see that. Too blind to see that her sun was actually another woman. 

“No.” Anna’s tone was stone cold. Her eyes stinging from the tears that threatened to come out. Why was she so blind? “That man was never my sun. I was too blind. And too stupid.” Her gaze was no longer on her grandson. Instead, it was on her knees, her legs kneeling on the grass.

“Unlike your grandfather, she understood my art. She understood my powers. And she loved me with whatever flaw I had. Even if the entire world were to call me a demon, she would stand by my side as she called me ‘her angel’. Being forced to marry the man that single handedly ruined my life. He burned my books. He took away my materials. Heavens, he even took me away from my home! But I remained loyal, for that is what Luna would have wanted. Now, he no longer lives with us. And I am free”  
It took her a few seconds before she realized there was another person who listened to her tale. She turned hurriedly to see the little boy in tears. He sat cross-legged on the ground, tears dripped down his chin as he watched her in silence. “G-Granny… I-I’m sorry.” The boy’s tone was soft, sweet and delicate- like if he spoke any louder, the entire world would shatter in his words. 

He quickly stood up and ran to her with open arms, wrapping his arms around her body. Tears soaked through her dress as the boy buried his face in her stomach. She didn’t even realize her own tears streaming down her cheeks as she hugged him back. “I miss her… I miss her so much…” She managed to breath out between sobs.

=========

Sweat dripped down his face as focus and concentration filled his mind. Steadily, he dipped his index and middle finger into the pouch of moon dust. With a steady breath, he began slicing his hand through the air in front of him. His hand drawing a glowing white symbol in front of him. Lines crossed lines as he swung his hand.

As soon as the symbol was complete, he swung his hand to hit it forwards. The symbol flew in front of him, creating a dome- like barrier around him. Similar to the particle barriers of the lions and the castle- except this was much like the powder he used- white with a tint of blue. He smiled triumphantly as he looked at his work. 

“Finally, you’ve been butchering that symbol for the past two vargas!” A familiar voice rang through the training room. The Cuban turned his head to find the raven-haired boy leaning on the door frame, a few feet outside the dome. 

Lance let himself grin. “Well, I have to draw it as precise as possible. You already know what happens when I mess up!” He countered as he crossed his arms.

The red paladin chuckled as he tilted his head. “The fact that the symbol blows up every time you do so much as have an extra millimeter in one line is pretty hilarious. How many times did that happen? 16? 28? OH WAIT- 51 times! 51 times the symbol blew up in your face! Each time being ridiculously funny”

The witch pouted as he narrowed his eyes on Keith. His body still ached from being launched into a wall so many times. “It isn’t as easy as it looks in anime, Keith! It’s either I perfect it or I get blown up!” He uncrossed his arms to wave his hands animatedly.

“I mean, you did master around 5 symbols these few months and you can summon Dakota with a paper drawing and dust. All in a matter of a few months.” Keith shrugged as he walked towards the barrier. A smile stretching on his face. He lifted his fist and pounded it on the barrier. “Can I come in?”

The Cuban rolled his eyes with grin. He extended his hand and concentrated. A hole erupted in the barrier in front of the red paladin. He stepped inside, the particle barrier fixing itself behind him. He stepped closer to Lance, stopping once he was only a foot away from him.

They stood in blissful silence for a few ticks. Ocean eyes locking onto lilac ones. But before any of them could do anything else, the room blared in red as the system alarms went off. The two of them both were startled when Allura’s voice rang through the castle. “Paladins! Report to the bridge, immediately!” The two of them exchanged glances before Lance dropped the particle barrier a tick later. They both ran out of the room.

“You have your equipment in the blue lion, right?”

“Yeah, always have!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, filler chapter for now!  
> I'm not feeling all that well


	7. Chapter 7: Battlefield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prince glared at him. “This is who hundreds of my sentries and soldiers had fallen to? An out-of-place witch?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I think I feel sicker...
> 
> *Voltron season 6 trailer comes out*
> 
> JESUS HAS RESURRECTED ME, TIME TO FINISH THIS CHAPTER
> 
> Also, my heart hurts from Keith outright ignoring Lance. But then I remember the bonding moment. I want to believe the writers just did that as Karma for my blue boy.

The smoke cleared the battlefield, letting the paladins see the extent of the damage. The purple mountainous terrain of the planet was littered with craters from explosions, limp sentries, and uprooted vegetation. But like every harsh battle, the paladins stood victorious. Grins and smiles of content and victory stretched on their faces. 

The remaining Galra decided to leave and escape, which was weird. Wasn’t their motto ‘Victory or death?’ Maybe they acted upon instinct? Nevertheless, the Galra left the planet, and that was more important than wondering why. “Allura, how’s the status of the civilians?” Shiro asked through the comms. Even if the Galra had been driven out of the planet, it would be no victory if the inhabitants of the planet did not make it out alive. 

The castle was landed on the planet, serving as a beacon for the people to set shelter in. “Thankfully, there are no known civilian casualties. A few injured, but no killed or missing,” The princess replied. Injuries were inevitable, being in the middle of war and all. But it was a big relief that they did not fail anyone. 

This let the paladins breathe easier. “That’s good to hear, put the injured in the cryopods and let the unharmed come back on the planet. The Galra already retre- “The black paladin was cut off with the loud engines from above the planet. Everyone looked up to see a large ship descending the planet. Accompanying the large ship were fighter ships that looked like they were modified. These fighter ships, unlike the ones they usually fought, were much larger. 

“EVERYONE TO YOUR LIONS, NOW!”

The paladins didn’t hesitate to follow, sprinting their way towards the lions. In their hurry to get to their lions, they failed to notice the large cannon aimed at the lions. The cannon fired at them, a particle barrier coming across them and their mechanical cats. They halted as soon as the barrier was fully made. Looking at the purple dome in defeat, they could hear the ships land on the planet behind them.

They slowly turned around to face the thousands of sentries and Galra soldiers that filtered out of the hundreds of landed ships. “ALLURA, FLY THE CASTLE OUT OF THE PLANET- NOW!” Before the Altean could complain, the sounds of blasters firing filled the comms. Allura, much to her grief, launched the castle and left the planet with all the civilians in tow.

=============================================

Galran soldiers threw their hostages onto the black metal ground, bruises and cuts littered their bodies. Their paladin armors were cracked and chipped off and their helmets were thrown off somewhere behind them- leaving them no communications back to the castle. Tired and exhausted, they didn’t bother to fight back. Instead, the all looked up to glare at the tall figure in front of them.

Yellow eyes scanned each and every one of the paladins, who still had their spirit fully intact despite their physical conditions. It was amusing, to say the least. It was almost tempting to try and break their fighting spirit one by one. A knowing smile stretched his lips as he counted only four of the Paladins present.

He stepped closer to his captives, a smile playing on his lips. “I expected better from the ‘defenders of the universe’ the planets I conquer cry so much about. The paladins who wield the strongest weapon in the universe. I am disappointed, but it is a pleasure to meet you all-” His eyes darted to the smallest. The green paladin, her honey-brown hair messed up as she tried to harden her glare. “-Even if one of them is a child.”

She growled under her breath as a snarl formed in her face. “Trust me, the pleasure’s all ours,” she spat with as much sarcasm and venom as she could muster. The guard beside her threw his foot onto her abdomen, knocking the wind out of her. Drips of blood came out as she coughed from the impact.

Lotor’s smile dropped as he looked at the pitiful girl gasping for air. “Is this what my father- the emperor of the Galra empire- was bested to? Children? Children from a primitive species that couldn’t even leave their solar system!?” His eyes scanned over the paladins once more. “I suppose princess Allura was desperate! Seeing she had to take you all over the millions of species all over the universe- all of them comparatively better than you.”

Hunk’s eyes looked over at his teammates, surveying their wounds. He wasn’t in bad shape, sporting a few bruises in his face, a cracked chest plate, and maybe a broken rub. But his good conscious won’t let him relax without knowing for certain if everyone was still doing relatively okay. He felt his heart stop and his blood freeze when he noticed something. “G-guys…?” He squeaked, earning the glances of his fellow paladins. “W-where’s Lance?”

The black paladin looked at the line they were formed in, searching for the Cuban goofball- but he was nowhere to be seen. Panic settled into his chest, the feeling of failure weighing down on his shoulders. The battle was merciless and the four of them were lucky to come out with what they have. But what if their missing comrade wasn’t so lucky? A single shot to the head would instantly kill him. Is he dead?

He felt his hands involuntarily struggle against the restraints that tied his wrists together behind him, a low growl burning at the back of his throat. “Where is he!?” Anger fueling every word as he spoke. He couldn’t have failed one of his teammates, right? What kind of leader was he to forget about his comrades so easily? If anything happened to his team, he would be at fault. His mind turned to blame himself more than the empire for his death- if he did die.

A smug smirk played on Lotor’s lips as he watched the paladins. Pidge had tears streaming down her cheeks as realization hit her, her mouth slightly agape. Hunk was frozen into place, anger and sadness battling in his eyes. Shiro snarled at the man in front of him, struggling against his restraints. Keith went silent, his gaze on the ground as his bangs covered his eyes from the Prince.

Lotor raised an eyebrow. The red paladin, the most short-tempered and easily angered of the team, was silent. Shouldn’t he have a harsher reaction to this than the rest of his teammates? Struggling against the guards as he would try and attack Lotor. Maybe he knows it’s pointless. Or maybe because he knows what exactly happened. He took a step closer to the paladin when—

“SIRE, LOOK OUT!” 

The prince jumped out of the way, just in time to dodge a familiar crescent energy. As he looked back at large horizontal yet curved crater in front of the paladins, he knew that his real target had taken the bait. The black cloaked figure appeared from thin air, standing a large distance away from him. He drew his hand and threw more attacks, all aimed at Lotor.

He dodged them effortlessly, far too effortlessly. It wasn’t like the attacks he observed from the video footages and recordings. No, he was drawing them slower while he supported the side of his abdomen with his unused hand. He was injured and lacks energy. Good. He was wearing himself out.

After a few more attacks, Lotor noticed he was swaying from side to side- trying to keep his balance as he, himself, tried to escape the blaster fire the guards were sending him. A victorious smile crept on Lotor’s face. If he tires himself out, everything would turn out to be 50 times easier.

And it didn’t take that long, either.

After a few dobashes, he was already on his knees, his head faced on the floor. Blood dripped down from his face, though it was still unseen from his hood. Why was he bleeding? Lotor didn’t notice a single laser hit him. Probably from the wounds he attained during battle? If so, it should have been doing so once he arrived to the scene.

Lotor raised his hand, halting the rapid fire of the soldiers. They followed suit, no hesitation or question. The prince began to step closer to the black cloak, confidence showing in every step he took. His smirk stretched on his face as his yellow eyes locked onto the hunched figure. 

Once he was close enough, Lotor grabbed him by the neck- lifting him up. The cloaked figure made a gagging noise as more blood seemed to splatter on the ground. He tried to get as much air as possible, but Lotor’s iron grip prevented that.

The prince glared at him. “This is who hundreds of my sentries and soldiers had fallen to? An out-of-place witch?!” His voice boomed through the room. The paladins watched in disbelief as Lotor’s grip seemed to have tightened. “Pathetic.”

“LET HIM GO!”

All heads turned to the red paladin, who was silent and unfocused a few dobashes ago, was now trying to get up and fight- only to be pushed down by the closest guard. The prince’s eyes trailed back to the person he had in hand. “Do not fret, paladins.” His voice was coated with fake honey, luring the paladins into a false sense of security. “Are you not curious as to see who your ally is? His true identity?”

Even if they wanted to know, and they certainly did, they knew it would be some kind of privacy invasion. Stern looks plastered on their faces, the back of their heads still reminded of the blue paladin’s absence. Keith still fought against his restraints.

Lotor grinned as he turned to the boy in his hand. He had a skinny figure, surprisingly. It wasn’t too hard to pick him up. He was so light that Lotor could swear he can lift the boy up with two fingers. But instead, his free hand made its way to his hood, ready to pull it down to reveal his face. But then in the corner of his eye, he noticed his clenched fist. With his index and middle finger out.

Quickly, Lotor jumped out of the way- centimeters away from the crescent attack that made marked where he last stood. The cloaked man fell to his knees, coughing up blood as he gripped his throat. His breathing trying to steady itself. He was pushing himself too hard, so hard that it was starting to effect his physical state.

That wasn’t good in the slightest. He quickly got up on his feet, swaying to the side slightly, and started sprinting towards the paladins. Keith seemed to freeze when he noticed the incoming black figure, giving out a sigh of relief. 

Crescent attacks made their way towards the guards as he ran, knocking them all out of commission. Once he was close enough to the others, he turned and saw Lotor already running towards their direction. Swiftly, the cloaked figure drew in the air with powder dipped in his fingers. After the symbol was finished, he threw it in front of him, creating the same dome barrier he mastered just a little while ago.

Lotor was a tick too late when he almost crashed into the barrier. He brought his fist up and slammed it onto it, like that would magically make it disappear. 

In a swift motion, the cloaked figure was already behind Keith- drawing his attack to break the cuffs. The red paladin twisted and checked his wrists, smiling contently. They both went to free the others, Keith using his blade to free Shiro. 

They all got up to their feet, stretching and adjusting their wrists. Hunk winced as he noticed the injuries on everyone else. All of their armor seemed to be in bad shape. Pidge has few cuts (probably won’t leave any scars, though) and a black eye. Shiro has a bruise on his cheek and under his chin. Keith seemed to be doing fine except for the fact that he had a bruise on his jaw. The only person who really needed healing was himself and-

The figure dropped to his knees as he coughed more blood, supporting his abdomen with his left hand. He looked injured, strangely enough. Was he at the battlefield and nobody noticed? Either way, Keith ran up to his side, his hand on placed supportively on his shoulder. 

After Keith scanned the hunched figure, he turned to the rest of the team. “We need to leave. Now.” But Shiro stepped forward. The red paladin was too focused on the wounded figure to realize that Shiro was glaring both of them down.

“No, we have to find Lance first. We can’t leave another paladin behind.” His voice turned into dad mode. His voice was leveled but still authorizing, which was scary in a sense. “He could still be out on the planet or somewhere on the ship.”

Keith and the cloaked figure turned to look at each other. From the glare that Keith gave him, he sighed in defeat. He reached to his hood and pulled it down, showing none other than Lance. Gasps erupted from the three as they looked at him. His nose had two lines of blood dripping down over his lips, where another stream of blood was dripping down.

Lance gave a pained chuckle as he looked at everyone. “Can we go now? I’m not doing so great…” he managed to breathe out. His voice tried to latch onto the usual cheery and easy going tone he always had, but failed, leaving the paladins into worrying even more.

Pidge recovered from her shock quickly, a glare set hard on her face. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Lance.” The Cuban steadily got back onto his feet and turned to look at Lotor, who had already called for backup. Soldiers were firing at the dome, trying to break in.

“I won’t be able to keep the barrier on for much longer.” Lance’s hand shot to his satchel, grabbing a piece of paper he knew too well. He took it out and showed it to the others. A vertical piece of paper with a sigil drawn with white powder. “I’ll summon Dakota and we’ll serve as a distraction to get the rest of you guys out of here.”

Hunk raised an eyebrow.” Dakota?”

“Wait.” Keith looked at the Cuban like he had a death wish. “What do you mean, you and Dakota? You’re injured, Lance! Won’t Dakota be enough distraction?” 

Lance glared at him, narrowing his eyes. “I refuse to let any of my summons be alone in battle.” His tone was cold and serious, so much unlike his usual joking one. Summons and Summoners have a deep connection with each other, and that meant he won’t leave them behind.

He felt the barrier start to fade. “JUST RUN, I’LL CATCH UP TO YOU!” He turned to face the soldiers, throwing the paper to the floor. His hand extended in front of him, using the powder on the paper rising up. It formed into a sphere, which then took the features of the familiar wolf.

The team looked at it with wide eyes, unbelieving looks plastered on their faces. The witch looked over his shoulder to meet eye contact with the paladins. “I SAID GO!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I think I feel sicker...
> 
> *Voltron season 6 trailer comes out*
> 
> JESUS HAS RESURRECTED ME, TIME TO FINISH THIS CHAPTER
> 
> Also, my heart hurts from Keith outright ignoring Lance. But then I remember the bonding moment. I want to believe the writers just did that as Karma for my blue boy.


	8. Chapter 8: The gremlin has been disturbed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I have a thing or two to tell Lance when gets back from kicking Lotor’s ass” Pidge said, her classic smirk playing on her lips. Her arms were still crossed, giving a more dominant vibe to the gremlin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another filler, still not feeling well.  
> I can't breathe  
> I'm also finished with a depression episode.  
> i'm feeling better if anyone is worried, I took my frustrations and made them into something positive;  
> this chap  
> Cuz I'm helpless like that.

The tapping sounds of Keith’s shoes on the castle ground echoed through the barrier, barely listening as the paladins explained the situation. His feet felt like burning and his bruises aren’t helping him in the slightest but he can’t sit still. Everyone knows about Lance. 

Once the other three paladins finished explaining, Allura immediately stepped forward. “And you just left him there?! All by himself!? Injured?! And in Lotor’s main command ship!? What were you all thinking!?”

Keith’s fist clenched and unclenched at his sides, his steps seeming to grow louder as he started stomping. He could feel his blood boil and steam blowing out of his ears. He felt like he was in the verge of collapsing into tears and punching a wall, all stirred together. He was able to take his frustrations out on his stomping.

Pidge huffed as she crossed her arms. “It’s not like we had a choice. Being rained on by streaks of light that can kill us with one hit made us run. And Lance said he could handle it!” Her gaze turned to stone as she stared down Allura.

Hunk fiddled with his thumbs. A thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead as he kept replaying what happened in his head. “So, are we not going to talk about the fact that LANCE HAS POWERS!? I mean, I was his best friend since we were 8, and he never showed any signs of having powers. Should I have known? I feel like I should have known!”

Keith’s legs stopped walking, coming to an abrupt stop. His fists were still clenching and unclenching. “No, you shouldn’t have known. And just so you guys remember, Lance is in a BATTLE with HUNDREDS of sentries and quiznacking LOTOR. He was injured and bleeding and god knows what!”

“Keith.” Shiro too a step towards him, hands up defensively. “You and I both know he’s fine. We’ve seen him with powers and with his bayard. We know of his quick reflexes and attacks. And that wolf-“

“Dakota,” Keith spoke up, his eyes narrowing as he felt Shiro crossing a line. Sure, maybe he hadn’t caught on his name; but it felt uncomfortable and offensive on Dakota’s part.

Shiro paused before continuing. “….Dakota has a large build, which we can assume was meant for attacking and offensive attacks. Lance is a tactical person, Keith. You out of all people should know.”

“I have a thing or two to tell Lance when gets back from kicking Lotor’s ass” Pidge said, her classic smirk playing on her lips. Her arms were still crossed, giving a more dominant vibe to the gremlin.

“And speaking of Lance, the blue lion is heading its way back here!” Coran spoke up from his position at the control panel. 

=============

Everyone waited at blue’s hanger, the blue sentient lion floating inside after a few dobashes. As soon as its claws hit the surface and her head lowered, the jaw dropped to let a wounded and tired Lance be dragged out by Dakota.

The blue paladin was on his back as the wolf walked out of the lion’s jaw. After blue lifted her jaw back up and shut down, Lance dropped on the ground- face first. His muffled groan could easily be heard by the rest of the paladins. Dakota, who also looked tired, dropped and laid on the ground next to him.

They both looked exhausted, and Lance looked like he was in pain. But mostly tired. “I crave the sweet release of death…” Lance’s voice was almost inaudible. “Someone, bring me to my room, I’m taking a 10,000-year nap.” 

Allura flinched at his comment, the fact she slept that long still came as a shock to her. But the Altean beside her simply played with his mustache. “Maybe a 10,000 dobashe-nap in the healing pods would be of more use?” The ginger raised an eyebrow as he asked.

“Mmmmm no. Fine, no difference anyways. Temporary death, here I come” Lance muttered. After a tick or two, the seriousness of his situation struck him. “Quiznak, do I have to explain to you guys….?” 

“Yes.”

“Yep.”

“Mmhmm”

“Of course.”

“That would be most appreciated.”

Another groan erupted from Lance. Keith sighed at looking at the exhausted Cuban. “I’ll help you explain it to them, that way you can get to your healing pod right after.”

It took a tick for Lance to process what Keith said before rolling around and shooting up, locking eyes with everyone. “DID YOU GUYS GO TO THE HEALING PODS??? ARE YOU ALL OKAY???” A smile spreads on Keith’s face. Puts other before himself, classic Lance. 

“Are WE okay?!” Hunk steps forward and crushes Lances into a hug.” You had to fight all by yourself at Lotor’s command ship! Against Lotor himself! Of course, we’re okay! Are you? You looked so hurt and we were so worried and we did the wrong move to leave you alone. We’re so so so so so sorry Lance!”

Lance lets out a pained laugh. “I’m alright, big guy.I told you to run, I don’t hold that against you. Also, my entire body wants to murder me and you’re making it worse.”

The yellow paladin immediately releases the Cuban from his death grip. He rolled his shoulders back to lessen the pain from his chest. His stomach was shot- burning and cauterizing since it was a laser. His chest and back from being hit by the butts of guns and slamming into walls. His head because of the fact he overstepped his boundaries. In short, he was in pain.

Lance scanned over his teammates, eyes landing on Pidge. She looked like she needed to talk to Lance, and she looked serious. Serious to the point it was scary. “Lance.” Her glasses tinted from the light. “Why the hell did you never tell us…”

“Pidge, I’m sorry I-“

“…. YOU CAN FREAKING ANIME LIKE THAT”

“Excuse me?”

The blue paladin looked at her confused and startled. Pidge seemed to be seething in anger. “Seriously, why have I never noticed anything before. The way you move and dodge and attack are all freaking ANIME WORTHY. And that outfit did you no justice either! And the way you summoned the wolf was AWESOME and ANIME. WHAT IS UP WITH YOU AND BEING A WEEB!”

He can’t find words anymore. No one in the room can. I mean, Lance can agree with her that it did seem too weeaboo, but still. Can’t she find a better time to talk about his life source- the glorious gift from Luna known as anime?

It took a few ticks for anyone to speak up. “… Lance has 90GB out anime saved in his flash drive. He was able to bring it with him when we first left Earth since he never leaves without it. He steals your laptop sometimes so we could binge. Pretty sure he got inspiration from Sailor Moon or something.”

“HUNK.”

Keith shrugged. “His powers are moon-based. Maybe he did get inspiration from ‘Sailor Moon’ “.

Pidge points at Lance accusingly. “YOU OTAKU SON OF A BITCH.”

“I feel so exposed.”

“WE’RE BINGING ANIME AFTER YOU GET OUT OF THE HEALING POD, YOU SELFISH SAILOR MOON COSPLAYING- FUCK.”

“Also, what in the actual fuck is anime?”

The Garrison crew turned their heads and looked at Keith like he grew a second head. Keith’s emotionless expression did him no aid as he cocked his head to the side curiously.

“WHAT KIND OF FUCKING ROCK WERE YOU LIVING IN?!”

“Let us cultivate you in the art form known as anime.”

“I have Dragon ball Z and Naruto, I think Keith might like those. Unless he’s into My hero Academia or Tokyo Ghoul. Your first series will make you either love anime or despise it.” 

“Wait, do you still have Attack on titan?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“FUCK YES, LEVI!”

Shiro turns over to his right-hand man in utter shock. Keith gives out a shrug before they turn back into the ‘anime squad’. 

Shiro takes a deep breath before speaking. “All right, why don’t we all go to the couch area so Lance can explain why he has these powers and he’ll explain everything we need to know.”

Lance gives out a nervous chuckle before walking back to Dakota, who- in his better hearing- immediately sat up and leaned forward, letting his summoner sit on his back. He stood back up and started for the door, the blue paladin in tow.

He turns and looks at the others. “Well?” The others follow him hesitantly, the adults mostly concerned of the fact that a wolf larger than Kaltenecker is leading them to a room in the castle. Space mom, Space dad, and Space uncle were just worried for their kids, that’s all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the filler!  
> Next chap will be worth it, I swear! 
> 
> I can't breathe and I'm still going through the after effects of my depression episode.   
> I feel so vulnerable.


	9. Chapter 9: Interrogations and tension.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He may as well lay everything on the table while he has the chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I'm back :P
> 
> Sorry for the one month (maybe more) delay.  
> Explained at the end.

“Luna has her eyes on you, my little witch.”

The small boy tilted his head to the side, confusion showing from his expression. “But I’m not a witch, I can’t do magic.” He looks at his grandmother as she slowly pets Ivory’s head, which rested on her lap. Her light blue feathers intertwining with her slender fingers. It gave the vibe of an old woman petting a cat.

“Are you sure about that?” She asked, raising her eyebrow. “You have the potential. You have the energy. You just need a little help from Luna, and you’re on your way.” Her smile widened at the thought of someone with such a pure heart having the power to protect the innocence.

“When will she help me then? I wanna have someone like Ivory! She’s really nice and feathery. But maybe a different animal, because Ivory is yours.” He asked innocently, excitement evident in his tone. Anna can hear Ivory take a happy sigh. 

_Anna, must he really be exposed to Alchemy? Magic? Quintessence? He should be able to live a normal life, not burdened by his own quintessence._

She took a moment to respond, calculating her next words carefully. “When the time comes for me to meet Luna, you shall receive her aid. I know you’ll use her gift with only the best intentions in mind, but it mostly relies on you, my child.”

The small Cuban gave a short nod. “I wanna help protect people! If I have magic, I’ll heal everyone and protect them from meanies and baddies!” 

_Such innocence. Anna? Anna, if you’re going to give him quintessence when you die… can you at least… I just…_

Anna massages the bird’s head, feeling her suddenly tense. The sudden action lets her ease a bit. 

_I don’t want to be alone again._

Anna gave out a short nod, a smile gracing her lips. “Of course, my angel. I won’t let you be alone again.” Her gaze went to the small boy playing with the glowing grass below their feet. “I won’t let any of you be alone again.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was awkward, to say the least. Everyone sat at the couch area; eyes all on the blue paladin and the white wolf sitting behind him. The two of them were aware of the seriousness of the situation, Lance trying to find the safest way to break the tension in the air.

The gem was healing him, slowly but it was doing his job. After the explanation, he can probably binge anime with the others. He can feel his body getting stronger, his wounds slowly fading and disappearing. The others weren’t aware, probably. They might notice the bruises and cuts on his face disappear as he explains.

Oh well, more things to explain. He may as well lay everything on the table while he has the chance. 

Keith sat next to him, everyone knowing he had a connection in all of this. Or at least, Shiro did. “Keith.” The black paladin raised his eyebrow as he glared down his right-hand man. He must’ve known Lance’s secret, why else would he be so calm when he disappeared and angered when they caught the black-cloaked figure.

The man in question adjusted himself uncomfortably but went to look his leader straight in the eye. Pure determination burned in his eyes. It was an automatic wall of defense. In truth, he’d rather be in the training room or his own room rather than this interrogation of a meeting. “Shiro.”

“You were aware that Lance was our ‘secret ally’, weren’t you?” 

The red paladin shrugged nonchalantly. “So, what if I did? Doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Lance tensed beside him, but he continued on. “We all know he’s the witch helping us, is it really so bad to have a few secrets kept from everyone else?”

“We’re supposed to be a team.” Shiro glared down at the two teens in question. “We shouldn’t keep any secrets from each other, especially if it’s beneficial to us. If Lance spoke up about his powers sooner, we may have taken down Lotor by now. We would’ve saved more planets faster. So.” His glare bore down the witch’s soul. “Explain.”

Lance and Keith can feel Dakota tense behind them, readying himself to attack. They didn’t need to look back to know that he was snarling at Shiro right now. Lance needs to calm both of them down. Otherwise, they’ll be dealing with an actual physical fight in his hands.

He took a deep intake of air. “I kept it from you guys because at the time, you were all so focused on the missions. You were stressed and tired from the attacks of Lotor to other planets. I didn’t want to take anyone’s attention away because I can do…” He played with the gem that hung around his neck, only striking him now that he was still in his cloak. “… this.”

Pidge leaned forward from where she sat, taking a closer look of them blue stone. “That gemstone, is that the reason why you can use quintessence the way you can? Does it give you your powers?”

“Well actually.” He rubbed the back of his neck, which he found to have a thin layer of sweat. “Since I’ve been exposed to quintessence that correlates with the energy of my gem, I can manipulate its energy. Technically, it just gives me energy to use my powers- if you want to oversimplify it.”

Hunk raised his eyebrow. “Okay, wait. Hold up. How were you exposed to ANY kind of quintessence? I don’t think I remember seeing you near any glowy liquid when we were younger.”

“Yeah, the thing is… I’ve been exposed to it before I met you. By a couple of years, I think. I think I was like… 5? 6? When my grandmother made me drink it so-“

“DRINK IT?!” Everyone chorused, startling the two teens and the wolf. 

Shiro and Allura stood up in surprise of what they heard, looking at their blue paladin in worry and concern. Coran seemed to be frozen in his seat. “Why would your grandmother do such a thing? And at such a young age! How was she able to get quintessence? What type of quintessence of it? Oh dear, Coran schedule a few tests, we need to-“

“WOAH, WOAH, WOAH.” Keith stood up as soon as he heard the word ‘tests’. Hell no. “Okay, we’re ALL aware that Lance is perfectly alright. We don’t need to prod and poke him with tests if we already know he’s fine.”

The two looked at him with unsure looks, but their looks were glared down by Keith’s silent command for them to sit back down. Dakota seemed to understand that Lance didn’t want to be tested on, since he stood up from his laying posture, ready to pounce on the two standing adults.

With the wolf and the red paladin both threatening to attack them, they slowly sat back down. They were still unnerved of the new information. Lance took a deep sigh of relief, Dakota and Keith both sitting back down.

“Okay, to answer your questions, princess; I have no idea how she got the quintessence, she just had them. But what I do know is that both her and my quintessence are both lunar quintessence. This gem has a lot of lunar energy, so it’s technically like bringing a second moon around with me.”

Lance gives off a small pause, thinking about his words for a moment. “Back at Earth, she was a witch, or usually called that. She told me that she knew I was special. I think, in her own way, she was telling me with a little more quintessence; I can use lunar energy like she can, too.” 

The words of his grandmother echoed at the back of his mind. _Luna has her eyes on you._ Yeah, it was her way of telling him that he has the same quintessence as her. 

Keith knew about his grandmother. Lance would tell him stories of her, about her magic to her general personality. He also knows about the story of Luna and her lover, the sun deity. He remembers Lance zoning out after telling him the story. 

_‘She never got her sun, since she was a woman. The lgbt were shunned at her time, so since grandfather belonged to a prestigious family- and he was interested in her- she married him instead of her. I wonder if I’ll make the same mistake?’_

That… didn’t sit right with him, for some reason.

“Still.” Allura looked at her paladin with a worried glance. “She made you drink quintessence. Being directly exposed to such energy, especially at a young age, should’ve been bad for your health. Did anything happen to you after you drank it?”

Lance paused for a moment, racking his brain for a response. “I mean, I did remember being super sick and in pain right after I drank it. I couldn’t stand up for like… a week or two? Maybe that’s why?”

The princess looked at him, unsure. After a moment, she glanced over at the black paladin. Knowing his history, he must be uncomfortable. However, she didn’t expect to see the untrusting glare he was giving the tan boy. It concerned her, making her wonder if anyone else had noticed.

There was a beat of silence before Pidge spoke up, adjusting her glasses as her gaze was still locked onto the blue stone. “So, you’re saying the lunar energy from your gemstone powers up your quintessence? So, you basically just have lunar powers?”

The blue paladin gave a small shrug. “If you want to over-oversimplify it, I guess you can put it that way.” His fingers massaged the gemstone, feeling it slightly glow at his touch. “I’m basically a Lunar witch.”

“Then,” She started, curiously. “If you give it to Allura, will she be able to use lunar energy, too? She can manipulate quintessence like Lance, granted weaker compared to him. She uses her quintessence to power the castle and heal the Balmera, so it shows she has enough quintessence to use the gem.”

Lance knew it wouldn’t work, Keith and Dakota knew, too. Hunk also had his doubts. Pidge, who proposed the idea, was unsure herself. However, Shiro gave out his nod of approval. “Yeah,” he responded, worry etched in his voice. “Maybe Allura should give the gem a go.”

Maybe he was worried about what the gem would do to her? Or maybe he was worried that whatever the druids did to him, Lance would do to him as well? Maybe he’d hurt the others? One thing was for sure, he wasn’t sure he could trust Lance, not for the time being.

The witch sighed before his hands made its way to the back of his neck, removing the silver chain. The blue gemstone hung onto the chain carelessly, swaying slightly. He stood up and handed it to the Altean princess, who took it with determination. 

Its blue light faded away as soon as Allura touched it, as if it isn’t a bad enough sign. She tied the jewelry around her neck, the gemstone laying on her chest for everyone to see. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to let her quintessence take a hold of the energy. However, no matter how much she tried- she couldn’t feel the energy.

Quiznak.

She gave out a defeated sigh as she opened her eyes. She started to take off the necklace from her neck. “I couldn’t even feel the energy. My quintessence doesn’t correlate with the energy, since I- like everyone else- have pure quintessence. Lance’s lunar quintessence must be strong enough to feel- manipulate- energy like this.”

She handed the jewel back to the Cuban, who took it carefully. He tied the necklace back around his neck. “It’s alright, Allura. You can’t exactly do anything about it.” 

The princess gave a small smile. “That’s alright, gives us more reason to train you. Since you are the only known person who has the ability to use this power, we should sharpen it to its strongest.” She paused for a second, examining the paladin and remembering his condition. “And we must take care of your physical health, your body couldn’t handle the energy well.” Keith smirked and Lance flinched. 

“Yeah, maybe because-“

“Don’t.”

“-he was too busy-“

“KEITH.”

“-getting blown up and thrown onto the wall.” 

“I hate you.”

“Wait, BLOWN UP?!” Hunk stood up, concerned. “What were you doing before the mission?! Why were you being blown up and thrown against the wall?!”

Lance glared at the red paladin, who shrugged. “I was practicing my symbols. Just so happens that if it’s not pitch perfect, it explodes. Since I draw it in front of me, I get…” His glare hardened on Keith. “…blown up and thrown onto the wall.”

The witch could hear his wolf chuckle, only noticing now that Dakota has returned to his laying position, observing the conversation carefully. Lance gave a short glare before turning back his attention to the paladins. 

“He pushed himself too hard,” the red paladin responded for him. “He was training for vargas when we got called onto the mission. He wasn’t given the time to rest, so I guess that took a toll on his body.” His tone suddenly dropped as he looked at the princess. “We shouldn’t overwork him.” 

Allura gave a short nod. She wouldn’t let any of her paladins risk their physical health for this war. The war that they had no choice but to join. It still surprises her that they are all still teenagers- all still children. Children that were forced to fight for not only for the universe, but for their own lives.

“Speaking of physical health…” Hunk said before pointed at his best friend. “I don’t really think we need that cryopod anymore, Coran.” Everyone looked and saw Lance’s once bruised and injured body completely healed. The last sign of his fight was the fading bruise on his cheek, which disappeared after a few ticks.

“Self-healing.” Coran played with his mustache in curiosity. “Interesting. I suppose that gemstone does more than give you energy, does it number 3?”

The blue paladin shrugged. “Yeah, I still don’t know what this thing can fully do. But hey, gives us more time to binge Attack on Titan.”

With that, the green paladin stood up, clearly enthusiastic. “Fuck yes! It’s been so long since I’ve sat down and marathoned an entire series. Hunk, cook up those movie foods. Lance, get your flash drive. Keith, get blankets and pillows. I’ll get my laptop.”

“Don’t you think the laptop’s too small for 4 people to watch?” Hunk asked, raising an eyebrow. Pidge paused before realizing her mistake.

“FUCK!”

Coran looked at the gremlin, thinking about a possible solution. “You know,” he started. “You can always use the bridge’s screen to watch your ‘anime’. I’m sure Allura and Shiro wouldn’t mind.” He turned to look at the two adults, who tensed. They exchanged glances before nodding in approval.

“YES!”

“THANK YOU SO MUCH!”

“SHOW’S BACK ON!”

Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist before the four teens ran out of the room. The three adults looked at each other before looking at the wolf, who lazily gets up and follows them. Coran turned to the pair, posture perfect as ever.

“Well, I’ll be working on repairing the ship’s engines. It took a few massive hits from the Galra after that mission. Don’t wait up!” He said before walking out of the room, leaving them alone.

The princess looked at Shiro, concerned. “What do you think about…” She paused for a moment, remembering everything that happened this quintant. “This situation? About Lance?”

Shiro stayed silent, thinking. “I… I can’t bring myself to trust him. Not yet.” Allura placed her hand on his shoulder.

“It’s fine. I’m sure everyone will understand. Your stay with the Galra mostly involved the druids, and Lance reminds you too much of them. Trust me-” She offered him a sad smile. “-I understand completely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... hi.
> 
> I'm sorry I couldn't upload for so long. I had... *kicks personal problems under a mat*... a few things to handle. But I'm fine now. I should be able to upload once to twice a week now. I do have other fanfics that I plan to continue (well, most of them).
> 
> Sorry for the sucky chapter, I'll upload a new chapter later/tomorrow. 
> 
> :)
> 
> Kowaistar,out :D


	10. Chapter 10: Shards of Memories

“Alright, just concentrate Lance. Dig into your memories and focus.” The witch scrunched his nose as the royal adviser instructed him. The silver device around his forehead sat cold, trying to process Lance’s memories. “If you truly did read through spell books when you were younger, you most definitely can remember them!”

Yes, his grandfather burned her spell books. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t rewrite spells she remembered. There were a few books, all seemingly made by her herself. They were all written by herself, in lavish and fancy handwriting.

They were trying to get those books using memory, which is why Lance is sitting in the middle of the training deck with a silver crown-like gadget around his head; seeping and searching through his memories while the others are watching My hero academia at the bridge. (They finished AOT and Keith wanted to watch more action- packed anime)

Coran typed away on the keyboard, his face full of concentration. There were already a few blurry pictures of pages of spells- though they seemed more at random than in order. All coming from different books at different pages. They planned to put everything in order, so this serves as a challenge to them.

“Ugh! Coran! I don’t see why I can’t wear this while I watch anime. At least give me a book or something so I don’t die of boredom!” Lance exclaimed as he flopped down onto the floor. His arms extended to his sides- covering as much of the floor as he can.

Coran shook his head at his silliness. Really, why were the paladins so easily bored with things these days? Maybe it’s because of how productive they were with missions and what not? “Doing an activity may not let you concentrate on your memories, and all this will be utterly useless. But…” He stroked his mustache as a thought for a moment. “…Perhaps you can have company. Maybe your friend, Dakota? Seeing as though everyone else is busy.”

The blue paladin thought about it. “Okay, I guess. It should be no problem. I just need my satchel and I can summon him here.” Lance scratched the back of his neck. A few ticks later, Coran entered the room with the black bag in hand.

He took the bag from the Altean and opened it, revealing many items he uses in battle. Summoning papers, a couple pouches of moon dust, small blades, a few energy bars he got from a planet they saved (he has a couple that tastes like coffee, he needed to hide it from Pidge), a canteen of water, his books, and a few other souvenirs and knick knacks he acquired throughout their missions.

He grabbed one of the papers and threw it into the ground. Lately, he had been using a special type of paper where it’s harder than normal. It reminds him of a blunt yet sturdy blade- since one of the paper’s edges had stuck itself onto the ground a few feet in front of him. The powder was still in place as he concentrated.

The powder rose up into its usual sphere, taking a few ticks to transform into his wolf companion. Dakota stretched himself from his slumber and opened his mouth to yawn. He didn’t sense any danger, so it must’ve been okay. He looked up to see the human in front of him, cross-legged as he looked back at him; bored and somewhat tired.

_My friend? Why have you summoned me?_

Lance smiled at what Dakota had called him. Friend. Much better than master. “Coran and I are trying to look for memories with my grandmother’s spell books in them. We’re hoping it would lead us to some interesting spells. But, I can’t really do anything while we’re doing this. So… I was wondering if you’d keep me company?”

Dakota looked at the strange contraption on his summoner’s head. It almost looked like a crown, if that crown were melted and reformed by a child. Though, its purpose shows use, apparently. 

_That is quite alright. I would much rather be at rest with you than fighting another battle. The last one was rather exhausting._

“Exactly. Wait, you’re alright now, right? You seemed pretty tired after the fight. Did you get hurt?” Lance asked, approaching the wolf in worry. Like stated before, summons and summoners have deep connections. But, Lance is a naturally caring person- no matter who that someone is.

_I’m alright, although- mayhaps a nap can benefit us both? You seem pretty tired yourself._

Dakota didn’t need the sleep, but Lance did. The witch’s hand went to feel for eyebags. “Tired? I… I don’t get tired… Well, unless I teleport myself too far. I guess using too much energy at a time makes me tired…?”

_And your self- healing may have taken part of this as well…_

Lance gave a short nod. “I guess I do need some sleep…” The wolf approached the boy, curling around him like a wolf would do for her cubs. The human leaned backward, feeling the soft fur tickle exposed skin. Dakota felt soft.. like a really nice pillow.

. . .

=======================================================

Anna stirred the bowl of dough together, humming a soft tune. A soft smile playing on her face as she poured the batter into the baking tray. She carefully placed the custom shaped cookie cutter into lines, making witch hat- shapes into the layer of dark chocolate cookie dough. Peeling off the shapes and placing them into a separate tray, she placed them into the oven.

As they started to bake, she turned around to see a 6-year-old licking the stirring spoon. He froze as soon as he realized he was caught, slowly turning away from the spoon and putting it down. An innocent smile plastered on his face as he tried to fool the older woman. It didn’t work.

===============================================

“Granny?” The little boy called as he tilted his head to the side. Anna took notice and quickly turned to meet his curious gaze. “Why does this drawing look familiar? I’ve seen it somewhere before- I know it.” He showed her one of her spell books. It was a sigil. A sigil she knew awfully well.

“Ah, that’s Ivory’s sigil. I use it to summon her. But, drawing it takes a lot of time; so I do it outside at night when I don’t have much to do.” She answered. Ivory’s sigil was extremely complicated, like many other summons’. It was no simple task to summon a powerful being made out of quintessence.

She smiled as she took the book from the boy’s hands. “My, you’re such a little sneak. Didn’t I place these in the highest bookshelf?” She smiled at the boy, clearly knowing she was no different in her early 20’s. A sly, sneaky, and quiet witch who manipulates and tricks other people. Not to mention, she was a pretty good thief back in the day.

Maybe her grandson inherited it from her?

Either way, the small boy pouted at the old woman. It was like he was mentally demanding her to give it back. Why was a five-year-old so fixated to a book that’s as complicated as magic? It was beyond her logical reasoning. She handed the book back to the little boy, who enthusiastically grabbed it.

He ran out of the living room they were in, making his way to the backyard. In the midst of flower beds, carefully planted trees, and shrubs; there was a wooden bench, usually unused. He sprinted his way there and propped himself onto wooden chair.

He started from the very start, once again, since what he did before was scanning through the pages. He was determined to finish his grandmother’s entire collection, which at that time had around 8 books. The one he held in his hands was the very first book. The first book that his grandmother wrote. Explains why Ivory’s sigil was here. It must’ve been printed into her mind.

============================================================

She had left Lance in charge of the house. His constant running away from home and school to come here is not good. Like today, he had just skipped school. His parents don’t know and considering that the stories Lance told her about the teachers were negative; she doubted his classmates and teachers knew, too.

He does educate himself, though. He’s already at the 5th book of her collection. Now, he had four more books to finish, seeing as though she had finished the one she was writing. He’d ask her if he could bring the books home and read through them. He probably doesn’t get enough sleep.

The bags of groceries rustled in her grip as she adjusted to open the door using her keys. Obviously, she wasn’t going to leave the house unlocked for anyone to just come in and harm her moon. She’d murder anyone who harms a hair on the boy.

The door opened as she walked in. She paused and noticed the small boy still on the rug of the living room, eyes glued to the page he was reading. He had finished the 5th book, already starting the 6th one. She smiled. “Hmph, fast reader.”

====================================================

Nights. Nights of endless reading for Lance. The only thing that stopped him was either passing out from exhaustion or the sun dipping light into his windows. If the latter happens, then that would mean school.

He really didn’t like school. The kids there could barely read! Or at least, not in a fluent level. Not a lot of them spoke English, Lance’s first language; seeing as though this was Cuba. The teachers were just there to make sure they don’t poke their eyes out and the kids all decided to isolate him from their games.

He didn’t mind though.

When he did get trapped in school, he’d usually be reading one of his grandmother’s books. 8th book. He was on the second to the last book. Unless his grandmother makes another one, but he wouldn’t be complaining. Not in the slightest.

It was easy to escape schools, despite the security guards, passing teachers, and snitch students. He had become a ninja, in his eyes. Someone who nobody can see sneaking by. He hasn’t been caught yet, and he doesn’t plan to.

================================================

“mira lo que tenemos aquí! _(Look what we have here!)_ ” A boy said as he snatched the 9th book from Lance’s hands. He looked angrily at the boy who stole his book. He was taller than him, surrounded by a few more kids.

Lance’s hands curled into fists. “¡Devolverlo! _(return it!)_ ” He demanded, stomping his foot in front of him. He glared at the kids in front of him. “No es tuyo. Devuélvemelo y déjame en paz. (It is not yours. Give it back to me and leave me alone.)”

The kids snickered as the larger boy stepped forward, taunting the book in his hand. “¿Vas a llorar, extranjero? Apenas puedes hablar tu propio idioma nativo. ¿Qué te da derecho a hablar con nosotros? _(Are you going to cry, foreigner? You can barely speak your own native language. What gives you the right to speak with us?)_ ”

He looked at the book, examining it thoroughly. “Vamos a romperlo en pedazos. Por páginas. Enseña a este idiota que está a cargo aquí. _(Let's break it into pieces. Page by page. Show this idiot who is in charge here.)_ ”

Without a second thought, Lance threw his fist into the kid’s jaw. The other kids watched as the small boy climbed on top of his fallen body, throwing non-stopping punches to his face. The girls from the group started crying and screaming, catching the attention of the teachers. 

One of the male teachers picked the toddler up and had to hold him still. The small boy still had a lot of anger to throw to his tormentor, throwing punches and kicks to the air as he struggled against the teacher. “LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

It took him a few minutes to calm down. Once he did, Lance was placed to the ground. He walked over to the book that had been unceremoniously thrown to the ground, picked it up and wiped the stray grains of soil off it. He then calmly walked back inside the building, as if nothing had happened.

============================================

Soft music played in the living room. Lance watched as his grandmother’s fingers danced on the keys of the piano, making a lullaby-like tune. This song stuck out to him more than the other ones she had played.

The tune was soft and light, like warm light. But it was also relaxing and calming, like a dark night. Combined, it reminded him of the moon. Light, surrounded by pitch black darkness.

He closed his eyes as the song continued to play, filling the room up. His head swayed from side to side with the music. It was one of the best songs he had ever heard, and even to this day, he still hums the sweet sound of its tune.

================================================

The blue paladin’s eyes blinked open- returning into the world of consciousness. He groaned as his body turned to the side, feeling Dakota’s soft fur on his cheek. He really wanted to go back to sleep, but the uncomfortable headpiece he remembered was on his head prevented him from doing that.

With a reluctant sigh, he stood up and stretched. His neck ached, probably from sleeping in such a weird position. He looked around, his hand shooting up to feel the gemstone tied around his neck. But it wasn’t there. His heart stopped for a tick before he realized he had left it in his room. That was probably why he was so tired., he didn’t get energy from gem.

A few ticks later, the ginger Altean walked into the room, cheerier than usual. “Greetings, number 3! Hope you had a good shut eye. You’ve been out for 8 whole vargas. The others are still in the bridge, surprisingly concentrated on their little show! My, how humorous.” He said as he walked closer to the paladin. 

8 vargas? That was way more sleep than he got recently. And anime would be the reason why Keith hasn’t threatened Lance to cut him if he didn’t leave. Of course, it had to be anime. How were they doing, anyway? Is Keith enjoying the anime? Maybe Pidge and Hunk got tired of watching or something? Or what if they’re all just passed out in front of the screen? That would make really good blackmail material.

“My, and it looks like Dakota over there’s still out like a light!” Lance turned around to see his summon, sleeping peacefully on the ground as he curled in on himself. “That battle with Lotor must’ve really taken a lot out of both of you!”

Lance smiled awkwardly, shrugging from Coran’s comment. “I guess it did. How’s the progress with the books? If it’s been 8 vargas, there must’ve been something we got out of it!” Coran perked up at the mention of the books, a smile spreading onto his face.

“Yes!” Coran exclaimed, startling Dakota awake. The wolf defensively stood up and took into a protective stance. He looked at the two men, seemingly having a normal chat. Lance muttered a quiet sorry to his friend. “You’d be quite pleased with the results, Lance! Come! Come!”

Coran beckoned him out of the training room, filled with excitement. The witch and wolf looked at each other with unsure faces. “Hey, I can go alone. You can leave now. I’ll be sure to summon you when I need you, alright.” Lance placed his hand on the wolf’s snout. Dakota huffed a bit before nodding. 

_Alright, just don’t push yourself too hard._

Now it was Lance’s turn to nod. “I promise. We just got 8 hours of undisturbed sleep. I’m sure by now, I’m fully energized and ready for action.” Dakota looked at his summoner before bowing his head. The powder started to fly into the air, making Dakota’s form disappear in front of Lance. 

The witch sighed before walking out of the training deck, following the Altean. A few moments later, they stepped into the observatory part of the training area. There, there was a screen filled with different pages and information. Most of them were pictures. Pictures of pages from his grandmother’s books.

Lance looked at the screen amazed. “How many pages were you able to download, Coran?!” Lance asked excitedly. He has the chance to read his grandmother’s books again! Why wouldn’t he be excited? They were all clear and legible, unlike a few vargas ago.

“Hm, I’d say all of them, my boy! Also, I’ve got a few pages already printed out! They aren’t related to the spells books, however. I plan to 3d print the books once I arranged everything.” He handed Lance a few papers.

Ocean blue eyes scanned through the first page, realizing that it was actually the recipe of the witch hat cookies his grandmother would make for him. He could still taste the dark chocolate and perfect icing in his mouth.

The second page and third pages were music sheets. The music sheets that play the soft piano tune his grandmother used to play. Maybe he can put it into a recorder or something as he plays it, so he can sleep with its soft and welcoming tune.

Lance smiled at the man in front of him. “Thank you so much, Coran. I really can’t tell you how much I appreciate all this work put into this.” Coran straightened his posture proudly as he smiled back at the paladin.

“Always a pleasure helping one of you six. That’s just my job!” He said before going back to the computer. “I’ll have these printed in two roars of a Heralium!” Lance nodded before walking to the door. 

“Thanks again, Coran.”


	11. Chapter 11: Quintessential pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It. Fucking. Hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Waves in the dark ocean of socialization*
> 
> SOMEONE PLEASE, SAVE ME.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Anyways, sorry for the wait.  
> We had cousins come over and, don't get me wrong; their really fun, but hellaaaaaa tiring.

“Okay, so: Moons have the highest quintessence levels when they are in range of a nearby star, like the one we had back on Earth. The moons we visited before weren’t in contact of suns, which is probably why you never felt energy waves; the energy was too weak to make proper contact with your quintessence.”

Pidge adjusted her glasses as she leaned backwards, her back meeting the soft cushion of the sofa. Her laptop burned her lap, but she paid no mind to it. She was used to it, considering that she only turns it off during missions or meetings. Her free time is consumed by the electronic.

The blue paladin was grateful that Pidge was able to finally clear the whole situation. All he needs is a moon with light from a star and he’d be good to go. He can’t depend on his gem forever. Moons on planets they’re fighting Galra on can prove useful.

Hunk looked at his best friend, genuine curiosity showing in his expression. “Okay- “He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. “-So; your grandmother, someone I’ve NEVER heard of until now, is an awesome lunar witch that makes spell books and makes potions and performs rituals. Can… can you do those, too?”

There wasn’t really a good response to that. Lance remembers a lot of what his grandmother would do. Things that Hunk had just listed of were some of them. She’d bring life to brooms and other household things to do chores; she’d threaten to put curses and hexes on people that bullied him; HECK, she’d walk on water and step out dry as a bone.

But Lance can’t exactly do those things, not to his knowledge. He doesn’t know his limitations, his boundaries, nor his potential. He could be just like a weak druid, or maybe just as powerful as Haggar, herself. Maybe even stronger. That thought terrifies him. He doesn’t want to be the strongest. Nor does he want to be the weakest. He just wants to fit in. To blend in with the crowd.

But the moon can’t exactly camouflage within stars, can it?

So, he drew in a shaky breath. “I don’t know,” He stated, simple and straight to the point. He looked away from the two, his gaze falling onto the ground. He didn’t like having no proper response to a serious question like this. A question that determines how much his teammates should fear him. A question that determines how much time they’ll give him before they kick him out. Before they outcast him from the team.

His two teammates couldn’t find the words in their mouths for a brief moment. The sudden drop of tone of their bubbly friend’s voice was concerning. But, a tick later, Pidge smiled and punched the Cuban’s shoulder. “Hey, you still got time to learn. You’re still starting out, after all. Your grandma did witchcraft the majority of her life, we can’t expect you to reach her level in a few months.”

“Take all the time you need. We’ll be with you all the way… just don’t zap us?” Hunk shrunk at his last comment. “I mean, you wouldn’t attack us, right? You have enough experience to keep it under control… right?” Hunk asked.

Lance shrugged it off. He knew this guy since they were 8-years-old. He was fully aware of how nervous and careful Hunk could be. He’d quadruple check everything he did back when they were 12. And he’d try to keep away from trouble, Lance along with him. Hunk’s probably the reason why he didn’t get in as much trouble as he should’ve in school. 

Soft chuckles escaped the blue paladin’s lips. “Don’t worry, big guy. I’d be out of my mind to attack any of you guys. And even if I did-” A small smile formed on his lips. “-I’d still get my butt handed to me.”

Even if it proves as a great advantage over his teammates, he will never use his powers for pure offense against any of them. Not in battle, not in arguments, not even in training. A part of him is scared. Scared of hurting any of them. Scared of hurting his second family, a family comprised of people who were placed in unlikely circumstances. 

If Lance and Hunk weren’t simulator partners with Pidge, they probably wouldn’t be in this situation. Maybe two other people joined her instead. But then again, maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that Hunk, a master chef and an engineering expert, became the yellow paladin of Voltron.

Maybe Lance; a teenage boy who, at the time, had zero control of his powers; was chosen to be the paladin of the blue lion. 

This thought comforted him, in a way. He had been feeling like an extra head that could easily be thrown away. It was a big relief that they know of this, that all of this was no coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. 

Everything happens for a reason.

Lance shot up. He couldn’t stay seated. He could tolerate it. Not when huge waves of energy crashed onto him like cold, hard, and harsh waves of an ocean. It felt like he had been pulled into deep waters, unable to swim up to comfort. 

It. Fucking. Hurt.

He turned to his two best friends, who looked at him in confusion. His gem was in his room, not to mention; he already made a connection with it. He shouldn’t be feeling energy like this. “Where- “He took a shaky breath in. “-are we going? Where is the castle taking us?”

Panic was evident in his voice, bringing slight fright to the two. Hunk sat up, putting his hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Hey, hey. It’ll be okay. I don’t know but. . . I’m sure Allura has a good destination set up for us. Maybe we’re going to a planet? Or a star system? Oh! Maybe we’re going to another moon-“

“If it is a moon, that explains the strong- “He visibly flinched from the waves of energy. They were getting closer. “- shit, I need to talk to Allura.” He quickly walked away from the room. Team PUNK were worried, of course. That’s why they ran after him.

The feeling of waves of energy was too overwhelming. Way. Too. Overwhelming. So overwhelming that maybe it wasn’t just a moon that’s causing this. Maybe something else was causing this, or someone. Either way, he had to know where they were headed.

The blue paladin walked into the room to find Coran comforting the princess. She looked like she was in some sort of pain, since she was clutching her head like a mad man. Her eyes were screwed shut as she continued to wince in pain. The royal adviser was obviously panicking about what was happening.

The ginger’s eyes darted to Lance as soon as he heard the door open. “Lance! Perfect timing. The princess isn’t doing too well and . . . I don’t exactly know what to do. As soon as we were the same orbit as the planet we were going to, she just-“

Another wave of energy hit Lance, at the same time; Allura screamed. Coran rushed by her side, and the blue paladin already pieced two and two together. Him and the princess had stronger quintessence than everybody else. They aren’t affected by these strong energies, but they both were. 

This was definitely some sort of lunar energy. But it didn’t feel like it was entirely made out of it. Like something was infusing itself with the energy. Whatever it is, it made Allura feel the energies, too. Her quintessence was strong enough to detect the energies, but too weak to withstand it. Even he felt pain from them. 

He quickly sprinted towards the princess, who had tears dripping down onto the floor. She was in immense pain, who could blame her? Lance placed his hand on her crouched figure, letting his quintessence coat over hers. This was to let her feel less pain, to help her recover from the waves she already felt.

However, this left him vulnerable to the energy. As soon as the next wave came, he winced from the pain as his free hand clenched. He can feel his eyes tearing up. It felt like Voltron used his sword to slice him in half. He felt like his limbs were being torn apart, his chest ripping open, and his head bursting into flames.

The princess relaxed a bit, taking shaky breaths. She had her arms around her, trying to contain all the pain. But they loosened as she felt the pain slowly leaving her body. She looked up to see her teary adviser, and Lance. The blue paladin was in pain, but he managed to keep it all in.

“Lance…!” the princess was shocked. Lance looked pale, sick, and had pinballs of sweat streaming down his face. She could still feel the waves of energy, but now, they were like breezes of wind. But she was fully aware of the fact that the witch beside her was feeling something extremely different.

With her energy restored, she quickly turned to Coran. “Coran, stop the course to the planet! Turn us around, Now!” She said; fear, panic and concern mixed in her voice. The adviser didn’t need her to repeat the order before he running to the control pad. 

His hands flew through the keyboard and controls, trying to get the castle to turn around. “Oh no.” The Altean’s shoulders drooped helplessly. “Princess. The castle is being pulled into the planet by some kind of electromagnetic force. Even if I pull all power towards the thrusters, it still wouldn’t be enough to counteract its pull!”

The princess’ gaze fell to the ground in disbelief. A distress beacon sent them in this situation. A situation where she and one of her paladins have their quintessence threatened. A situation where the castle is being pulled to the planet. A situation where her paladins can be in grave danger.

“Coran, call the rest of Voltron! Tell them to suit up and get ready. Once we land on the planet, we’ll search the area. This could be a trap of the Galra. . . or Haggar.” She ordered hastily before turning to the human beside her. He was growing paler and more tears spilled down his cheeks. She couldn’t speak, not when her paladin is forcing himself to suffer for her sake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as the castle touched the ground, the paladins and princess walked out. Equipped with their bayards and in full armor. Lance’s hand was still on Allura’s shoulder, no matter how much she wanted to argue. He can’t sacrifice his health for hers! She can endure the pain. 

However, it did seem like the pain had wore down on Lance. He refused to have his gem with him. He knew if he was 20 feet near it, he’d pass out from too much energy interfering with his quintessence. And besides, he can still use the energy passed down by the moon- so there was nothing to be afraid of.

The dark, meadow-like terrain greeted them, stars glittering above them in a serene-sort of manner. Landing on the continent where the moon was above of obviously led them to the part of the planet currently consumed of night. It didn’t help anyone’s anxiety.

Quiet steps were the only thing they heard as they all started to explore the planet. However; flowers, grass and distant trees were the only things they could see. Coran, during the 20 or so dobashes they were searching, told them that the castle couldn’t leave the planet’s surface. Some type of force was pulling it down. That concerned everyone.

“There has to be something around here,” Shiro stated, clearly frustrated. “If it’s a trap, then they should have attacked us by now.” The leader raised a fair point. 5 dobashes was enough to let someone’s guard down- but 20 dobashes was way too much. Pidge and Hunk looked at each other, both having silent conversation before using their actual voice.

“Maybe it’s the planet’s core? Or its atmosphere?”

“Or maybe a few aliens dropped by and… I don’t know, planted some sort of device.”

Allura stood straighter, the blue paladin’s hand adjusting on her shoulder from the sudden movement. “Then what about the distress beacon that lead us here in the first place? Some conscious being must have sent it, and we worm holed to the star system as soon as it broadcasted- there is no way anyone could have escaped without the castle, Coran nor I noticing.”

Everyone could hear Lance’s ragged breathing. His tears stopped before anyone else came to the bridge earlier. Only Coran and Allura knew about it. He didn’t really want anyone else to believe he was weak enough to cry over some pain. He wasn’t weak. 

“I. . . c-can feel. . .” He breathed out. “. . . something. . . someone. . . is on this planet. . . And. . .” He groaned as his curled in on himself, his free hand gripping his head in pain. 

Keith looked worriedly at him, much like everyone else. “Lance, you shouldn’t be doing anything- not even helping the princess! You should worry about yourself, get back to the castle and get some rest. We can take everything from here.”

However, the witch shook his head. “No. If anything I should be with you guys. I don’t trust this planet, and I’m not leaving you alone in here.” He pulled on his classic smile. That goofy, cocky, and reassuring smile. “Besides, I can’t let Allura get hurt. She could barely handle it outside the atmosphere.”

Selflessness. Something Keith had always admired in Lance. He took care of the team and cheered them up when they were down. There were always moments in battle where Lance had shielded them from lasers and attacks. How can someone care about people so much? 

But he’s noticed something. How much he thinks little of himself. How much he thinks he’s the seventh wheel when in reality he’s the steering wheel of the team. Without him, the team would all drive to the ground. How could someone care so little about themselves?

Keith hated that part of him. 

“Lance- “Keith needed to argue with him. A bright light stopped him, instead. A blur of green light came towards them. In less than a tick, a strange glowing creature stood in front of them. It looked like a normal human being, only difference being the glowing.

It looked feminine, to say the least. Short hair that reached mid-way down her back, bangs covering the right side of her face. She wore an almost maid-like dress, a headband and shoes to count. Her unwavering smile was creepy, almost like she was trying to hide something malicious.

The others were confused, by Lance knew well. Felt well. “Summon. . .” He managed to breathe out. “She’s a summon. . .” That made everyone turn to him, all with confused looks and faces. A summon, in their knowledge, was an animal. Then again, they have only seen one summon.

“Welcome to Ataraxia. I am Melias. My goddess has been expecting you all.” Her smile stayed as she tilted her head slightly. “She is most excited to meet the one who bears lunar quintessence.” Her gaze fell on Lance, fully acknowledging his poor state. This didn’t faze her in any way. “I shall bring you to her in a tick.”

A circle surrounded them, glowing a brilliant bright green. The paladins stepped back, but before they could do anything else, the circle formed into a dome. The dome rose up into the air as a sphere and bolted, leaving the castle and a confused Coran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> I suck at writing.


	12. Chapter 12: Her palace.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melias’ smile returned as her back faced the paladins. “We’re here!” She chirped, as If nothing had happened. Everyone looked up to see what the summon was referring to. “Welcome to my Goddess’ palace!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! From where I am, exams are this week.
> 
> *Is surrounded with unfinished projects*
> 
> :D  
> Iife is great!

The sphere was silent. Melias stood in front of everyone, her smile growing wider as she acknowledged her effectiveness. That was something she needed to gush about. “My! My goddess would be so pleased once I bring you to her. Especially the one who can wield the moon’s power!” 

Her gaze flew to the Cuban. His skin was pale, his posture sickly, and his quintessence was wavering by the dobashe. The woman he had a grip on seemed to have strong quintessence, fueled only by his touch. But the blue paladin’s quintessence remained strong. That was rather surprising. 

Her eyes twinkled with delight. “Oh, you do not have to protect her from the moon’s energy! Not in here! See, this type of magic blocks off any energy outside. So you’re all perfectly safe,” Her voice was chipper and energetic. 

Lance looked at the princess with unsure eyes. He knew Melias was right, energy can’t get passed this sphere. Slowly, he lifted his hand off her shoulder- anticipating the worst. Their loss of touch caused their connection to break, staggering both of them backward.

The princess coughed from the lack of quintessential support, clutching her head from the light headache. It wasn’t as bad as the ones the moon gave her, though. This one seemed like a regular ‘not enough sleep’ headaches.

Lance, whoever, had a worse reaction. His knees dropped to the ground and arms wrapped around his stomach tightly, almost as if they’d break apart if he didn’t hold on tighter. Tears gathered in his screwed-shut eyes as he scowled in pain.

Keith was the one who sprinted to his side. Sure, it had been five steps or so, but that space kept him from the blue paladin. The red paladin wrapped his arm around Lance’s back, whispering reassurances as he felt his own heart begin to race with adrenaline. The boy in his arms was breathing hoarsely, wheezing and slightly coughing.

Everyone had gathered around the two- except for Shiro, Allura and Melias. The black paladin helped steady the princess and asked how she was feeling. Melias, on the other hand, simply tilted her head to the side- her smile still stretched on her face. 

“This is what happens when you help others weaker than you,” She stated. “You’ll simply get hurt. You might as well level with someone as great as you.” She shot glares at the other paladins surrounding the witch. “And not weaklings like them.”

From hearing her last sentence, Lance’s head shot up to glare daggers at the summon. “They’re . . . They are not weaklings!” Lance defended, panting in between his sentences. “Just . . . because we have the quintessence . . . doesn’t make us . . . stronger . . . nor better . . . than anyone else . . . so . . . cut the bullshit . . . and . . . take us to . . . your summoner . . .”

Her perfect (almost creepy) smile grew into a scowl grew on Melias’ face as she noticed what the blue paladin had called her master. “She is no mere SUMMONER!” She shouted the last word out with venom, as if the title had been some sort of insult. “She is a goddess. MY Goddess. I shall not have someone as insolent as you call her as such filth! You should be punished for your lack of respect- “

The sphere around them disintegrated into green dust, joining the gusts of wind that brought chills down the paladin’s spines. Melias’ smile returned as her back faced the paladins. “We’re here!” She chirped, as If nothing had happened. Everyone looked up to see what the summon was referring to. “Welcome to my Goddess’ palace!”

The walls of the large castle-like structure in front of them were made of a smooth gray material. The pillars holding the entrance to the building were carved in intricate designs and had flowering vines crawling up it’s figure. Vines, mosses, and plants found their way on most spots of the castle, but they did nothing to ruin the castle’s elegance.

The summon started to walk towards the castle, breaking everyone else’s gawking. “Follow me!” She ordered. The paladin’s obliged, hesitant and reluctant but figured they had no choice. Keith, being the on closest to Lance, pulled him up and let Lance’s arm wrap around his shoulders. Keith’s hand wrapped around Lance’s waist as a means to steady the blue paladin.

The Cuban was surprisingly lighter than he thought.

Well, there was that time he had to carry him to the healing pods after Sendak almost took control of the castle. But from the adrenaline and panic of losing his teammate, he failed to realize back then how light and delicate Lance’s unconscious body was in his arms. He does now. 

The blue paladin stirred but remained half-awake. He knew he needed to stay awake. This ‘goddess’ Melias keeps bragging about is a strong entity, he knows it. He can feel it. The closer they got to the castle’s doors, the more Lance wants to run and hide. This force felt intimidating, scary, strong. He needed to get his energy back, and fast.

Giving his energy to Allura wasn’t the best idea considering the situation they were in. His gem and satchel were in the castle, the moon was giving him too much energy since it’s been amplified by this ‘goddess’, and everyone’s walking to the ‘goddess’’ palace: where she most likely is. With his luck, he knows he’ll have to fight her. But in this condition? He wouldn’t last a tick.

But this wasn’t the time to panic. He needs to formulate some kind of plan. Allura might have a clue about how dire the situation was, but the others are oblivious. His head began to spin with different scenarios of what he can do.

His eyes traveled around the room they just entered from outside. The throne room. The center piece of the large space was a golden and silver throne. Sitting on it was a woman. A lime green mermaid dress hugged her slim figure, gems imbedded on its ends. Both the gems and her jewelry shone in the moonlight through the large stained windows behind her. Wrapped around her forehead was a silver circlet, a green gem imbedded on its center.

The stained windows were of designs of- what he assumed- was herself. She posed in different ways, showing elegance and grace. The windows portrayed her as a kind and loving goddess of nature, the windows mostly green- but Lance couldn’t be fooled. He knew this beautiful lie hid the ugly truth.

He scanned the room as quickly as he could. Something. Something he could use against her. 

Carpets.

Chandeliers.

Portraits of herself.

Windows.

Tables.

Plants.

Vases.

VASES!

Lance smirked at his finding. That vase must have some sort of dust. All he needed to do was grab it and summon Dakota. But that would take time, drawing his sigil before being caught was impossible at the moment. So; all he needed to do was take the vase, hide it on his person, and enchant it later so he can use it.

Obviously, you can’t use normal dust or soil to summon a being of quintessence. The dust itself must have the quintessence of the summoner imbedded in it. That was why their bond was so strong. They literally share the same soul energy.

With Keith supporting him, Lance took the opportunity to look injured and tired- when in reality, he’s gathering up enough strength to summon Dakota later. He looked up as he felt Keith’s hand hold his waist closer to his. A protective gesture. From her.

“My! Welcome dear travelers!” Her voice was laced with honey as she greeted them. Her smile was sweet as sugar. She brushed her long, pale brown curls behind her as she stood up. He could hear her heals grow closer and closer to them.

Her arms were open wide as she smiled so tenderly at the paladins. She walked over to Allura and hugged her, almost squeezing the oxygen out of her lungs. The princess laughed awkwardly before pushing away politely. For a moment, the goddess’ face flashed something only Lance could have noticed, since he’s been having a keen eye on her. 

Disgust.

Why would she be disgusted? Why at Allura? She definitely didn’t smell, nor did she do anything rude. Or maybe it is because of the goddess’ own ego about her quintessence? Maybe she knows Allura’s quintessence was weak, and will always be weak?

Is that how she found out about Lance’s quintessence?

“It is so nice to see new faces around my planet.” Emerald eyes scanned over them, examining each one. Lance held onto a small hope that maybe, just maybe, she would write off his state as weakness and write him off as just another human.

Of course, the sparkle in her eyes as they landed on Lance proved him wrong. “In all my years. . .” The goddess stride over to him, practically yanking him out of Keith’s arms. “. . .I never would have thought I’d meet a lunar witch again.” Her tanned hands cupped his cheeks, pulling his face closer to hers. Her eyes scanned over him, tilting his head side to side to see every feature of him.

He wanted to fight back, but he knew better. He knew if he acted now, there won’t be any chance of them getting out in one piece. So, he let her examine him like some rare artifact. He probably was, in her eyes. The fact she stated she thought she’d never see another lunar witch made him worried. Was he the only one with this kind of quintessence left?

After a few moments, she dropped Lance’s face and smiled. “Such an honor! Such an honor!” She cheered as she looked at him. “My name is Vesta. I am a green witch. More commonly known as a nature witch. I assume you do not know much about witches- seeing our kind have died out so long ago.”

She looked. . . remorseful at the mention of what happened to the other witches. Everyone noticed, but the blue paladin let the new information sink in. “Witches. . . died out? What about Haggar? Isn’t she a witch?” He asked. So, it’s possible he’s the last of the lunar witches. That. . . was rather depressing to think about.

Vesta only offered a sad smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She wasn’t so bad. Maybe Lance had judged her too quickly. He based it off her quintessence energy. Though her quintessence was strong and intimidating, it probably wasn’t enough to justify his distrust with her. “I shall explain everything. . . but first. . .” 

Her emerald eyes darted towards her summon, who flinched at the sudden attention. “Who do you think you are, to yell at your superiors like that?” Her voice was cold, serious. “How dare you threaten another witch? Another GOD?”

Melias trembled where she stood. God? What? Is that what Vesta saw in witches? Gods and Goddesses that reign higher than non-witches? Lance gulped as everyone stared at the scolding. “I-I’m sorry, my Goddess!” She dropped to her knees, her hands brought up to beg. “I shall not do it again! I-I will respect the lunar witch, just-“

“LUNAR GOD, YOU INCOMPETENT SUMMON!” Vesta’s shout echoed throughout the palace. Her hand wrapped around the helpless summon’s throat and lifted her from the ground. The others took a step back, away from the commotion in front of them. 

“You filthy summons are nothing without your deities! Without us, you wouldn’t exist! But seeing your attitude- “her grip tightened around Melias’ neck, the summon choking for air. Her hands tried to claw off Vesta’s hand, but to no avail. “-you are not worthy to be alive.”

With one final gasp, Melias turned into dust. The dust was light green, almost matching her once glowing green skin. The green dust sprinkled onto the floor, and some still on Vesta’s clenched fist. Everyone stared at the green witch as she dusted her hands off. She looked calm and collected, as if she hadn’t murdered someone, her own summon, in front of her guests.

She turned to face the others, a smile greeting them. “Why don’t I send someone more competent to guide you to where you would be sleeping during your stay?” Without waiting for a response, a green flower dropped to the ground.

In one tick, everyone looked at it confused- the next, a bright green flash of light blinded everybody. As the light faded away, a man stood in front of them. He bowed, his suit slightly wrinkling. A butler. “Greetings, I am Tizoc. Let me take you to your rooms.”

Vesta smiled at them as she waved. “I shall meet you at dinner time, darlings. There should be a few clothes a recommend you wear once we eat.” She said. Maybe it was just them, but it sounded more of an order than a recommendation.

Lance was right. He doesn’t trust this woman, not in the slightest. And now, the rest of team Voltron are all aware of how dangerous she is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry my writing sucks. I rushed it. See you guys next week! or maybe if I get the time, a little later this week?
> 
> i don't know, my upload schedule is all messed up.
> 
> Thanks school :)!


	13. Chapter 13: Suits and Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Alright, then. Go and get ready. And I swear to Luna herself, if you walk out of that closet with a ridiculous looking suit- I will have Dakota bite your head off.” Lance half-teased, half -threatened. Playful banter like this wasn’t uncommon for them, so Keith caught on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the late update.  
> I just. . .
> 
> Needed time to heal from my exams. . .
> 
> And season 7. . .
> 
> KLANCE. STILL. LIVES.

This was bad.

Not the, ‘oh no, we’re screwed’ type of bad. No. this was the, ‘fuck, we’re going to die if we make a single fuck up.’ Type of bad. Seeing all the different summons around the castle spiked up Lance’s anxiety levels through the roof. 

There were summons acting as knights who stand by the corridors, unmoving as they wear bulky armor and keep weapons at the ready to be drawn. How long has it been since they left their positions? There were also maids, cleaning ladies, and butlers who tinker around the castle.

Some swept the floor, others cleaned the windows, a few tended to the flower pots hanging above them; but majority were just sprinting down the halls to their required stations. It seemed so hectic and chaotic. Vesta is treating summons, beings that share a deep connection with your very SOUL, as slaves. Servants.

This was inhumane.

They followed the summon in front of them, who hastily walked to where they were supposed to get ready for dinner. Lance assumes that, based on what he’s seen so far, Vesta must’ve gotten a few summons to cook for them.

He hardly noticed Keith still supporting him as they followed Tizoc. When he did, however, the blue paladin eyed him down suspiciously. “We don’t want you to trip or pass out.” Keith was able to whisper out, letting the two of them hear it.

The witch paused before nodding. He swung his arm around Keith’s neck and he felt the half-galran’s hand on his side. Lance scanned the hallways, looking for any vases for him to grab. He spotted one by the corner, having no flowers. It stood beside an end table which held a vaseful of flowers, trimmed and arranged to perfection.

A spare vase, which hopefully has some kind of soil or dust. Perfect. He looked over to the boy by his side. “Hey,” Lance whispered, “We need that vase over there. I’ll explain once we’re alone.” Alone. Alone as in not around slave summons.

After a glance toward the vase, the mullet turned back to give a small nod. They slowed down their pace, leaving to be at the back of the group. The others paid no mind, thankfully. All were trying to get a good look around the hallways. Memorizing pathways and analyzing escape routes. Obviously, they didn’t get anything out of it yet. 

As the group turned to turn the corner; Keith, who was closer, swooped in and used his free arm to scoop the vase in his arm. He handed it to Lance, both relieved they could feel it half- full of some sort of dust. Lance tucked it into his jacket, hiding it between their two bodies.

Sprinting towards the rest of the group, hoping that none of the summons picked up on their thievery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tizok stopped, leading the paladins behind him to stop, too. In the walls of the hallway in front of them were doors, all of considerable distance away from each other. The summon turned to face the guests. “This is where you are all staying for the night. Each room is suited with varying suits and dresses for your pleasure.” 

They had to get separated. Lance wasn’t exactly fond of the idea, but what can he do? 

That was when he heard Keith clear his throat beside him. “I think I should stay with him,” Keith said, his hands tightening around Lance. “He can’t exactly stand up, much less change by himself. I’ll come with him just in case anything happens.”

The mullet actually made a plan! A decent one, at that. Once Keith and Lance get the room, they can make the sigil so much faster than if Lance does it by himself. When Tizok raised an eyebrow of uncertainty, Lance coughed heavily. 

“Yeah, I agree with Keith. I need someone to carry me.” Lance looked up and saw Tizok’s expression turned to doubt. Alright, psychological attacks it is. “Besides. . .,” Lance said, lowering his head, “You don’t want to disappoint your Goddess by letting a Lunar God, such as myself, be in such poor condition; do you?”

The summon quickly shook his head. “R-right of course, I am sorry! You may share the bedroom, just please… please don’t tell lady Vesta! S-she’d murder me!” He seemed genuinely scared, trembling on his feet. Murder? Summons can be summoned with sigils, they’re basically immortal and can reincarnate with different witches-

Oh.

Realization dawned on him, silently disappointed that he didn’t realize sooner. The reason Vesta’s summons were so compliant with her orders- in spite of having an extremely weak connection with them- was because they believe that she would be their last summoner.

That after Vesta dies, they are all removed from existence, too. They’d be stuck in deep sleep for god knows how long, waiting for a summoner who would most likely never come. That had to be just as depressing as being the last of your kind. Having to deal with countless summoners, only for your last one to be this cruel, egotistical, self- proclaimed goddess.

Even if regret, pity, and concern washed his entire being down in waves, he refused to show weakness in front of this summon. Not in their current situation. 

Tizok stepped aside and let the paladins take one room each. There were a lot more bedrooms further down the hall, but they all silently agree to get ones closest to one another. Keith and Lance took the closest to them, Lance pretending he was in weak condition.

Once the door had swung shut behind them, Lance unwrapped himself from his teammate and swiftly turned to lock the door. Take the vase out of his jacket, he looked into the contents. Smiling contently, he saw the light gray dust filling half of the ceramic vase.

Turning to Keith, he gave a short nod. “Okay, so I’ll enchant the dust and start drawing the sigil while you change to whatever-“ Lance’s gaze shot to the two doors behind Keith, assuming that one led to a wardrobe and the other to a bathroom, “the wardrobe has. Then, while I change; you go ahead and continue what I started. You do remember how to draw Dakota’s sigil, right?”

The red paladin rolled his eyes. “I have it engraved to my brain since, you know, you made me draw it around 10 times?!” Lance chuckled at the memory. Keith had offered to help him draw the sigil on the pieces of paper he uses to summon. So yes, perhaps he did memorize the sigil.

“Alright, then. Go and get ready. And I swear to Luna herself, if you walk out of that closet with a ridiculous looking suit- I will have Dakota bite your head off.” Lance half-teased, half -threatened. Playful banter like this wasn’t uncommon for them, so Keith caught on.

A smirk played on his lips as purple eyes glinted with playfulness. “As long as you don’t walk out of there looking like a drag queen,” Keith said. He can already imagine the blue paladin strutting out of the closet with some sort of peacock suit with blue, white, silver, and gold accents. It wasn’t farfetched, too.

Lance placed his hand on his chest in mock hurt, giggling slightly. “Quiznak, there goes my gorgeous turn-around plan.” He joked, earning a groan from Keith. But, once again, the smile playing on the red paladin’s lips was undeniable.

The witch wanted to ask about that, he really did, but he knew they were running on short time. “Alright, Keith- go ahead and change. And hurry up, too. We don’t exactly have all the time in the world.” With a quick nod, the mullet turned and sprinted into the closet, closing it with a slight click. 

His tense shoulders relaxed as he let out a breath he didn’t know he held. His gaze dropped to the vase, most especially its contents. 

Concentrate. 

His nose scrunched up, quintessence flowing from his hands into the dust.

Concentrate.

He can feel the slight glow of energy from the dust.

Concentrate.

A sharp gasp escapes his lips, his eyes shooting open. Since when did he close them? Looking back down, he noticed the oh-so familiar glow around the now white dust. White with a slight tint of blue. He smiled proudly to himself, it takes him such a long time to do something like this. He’s improving.

He dipped two fingers into the vase, his index and middle finger. Circling around the room, letting his fingers touch the smooth quartz floors. After drawing the circle, he went to work. Drawing different signs and symbols inside the circle, his feet moving to avoid stepping on any of them.

Halfway through finishing, he heard the closet door opening. Lance turned around just in time to see Keith, who wore a prince-like outfit. Red and white were the dominating colors as the accents of the clothes were gold. 

He looked curiously towards the blue paladin, seeing the shocked look on his face. “I look stupid, don’t I?” Keith asked with a pout. “I don’t give a quiznak about what Vesta says, I’m changing back into my armor-“

“No no no no no!” Lance chanted as he maneuvered his way around the symbols and towards Keith. It took a few ticks for the witch to reach the mullet. “Red and white suits you, like your armor. The entire outfit suits you. You’re like, the definition of a Disney prince.”

Blue eyes scanned Keith head to toe, stopping at his hair. “Although, you may want to tie that back. It’ll look better.” He grabbed the red paladin’s wrist and pulled him towards the vanity. Pushing him down to sit, Lance grabbed a thin rubber band from one of the vanity’s drawers and stepped behind Keith.

Keith can feel his hair being tied tightly. He wasn’t exactly used to people touching his hair. Maybe some hair rustling from Shiro, or when one of the mice snuck behind him and played with the strands of raven hair, but no one had ever actually tied his hair before. He should feel uncomfortable.

But he wasn’t

Somehow, the knowledge that Lance was doing this calmed him down. Lance- someone who he had probably gotten closer with than anyone in his life- was fixing his hair. Shiro was a close second, but ever since he disappeared for an entire year, they haven’t exactly caught up with what they were doing during his disappearance. Shiro was like a brother to him, but for some reason, Lance-

“Done!” 

Keith sub-consciously moved his hand to touch his hair, finding it tied back neatly. He turned to the vanity, the first time he actually saw himself in this ridiculous outfit. But, he had to admit that the blue paladin had a point. He looked fancy in the suit, not that this was his style. Far from it. But he knew he had to tolerate it. His hair looked better in a ponytail, too.

For how long Keith stared at the mirror, it was enough to worry the boy behind him. “Hey, it’s not like I cut your mullet off!” He teased before his gaze turned towards the unfinished sigil. They’re running out of time. “Okay, okay. Stop gawking at yourself and finish the sigil. I need to go change.”

And with that, Lance jogged towards the closet before closing it shut.

Watching as the witch closed the door, he stood up and made his way to the sigil. He wasn’t used to drawing it as large as this. Usually, he and Lance would sit down in either of their rooms and they’d get thick sticks from Coran’s storage; using them like pencils as they dipped them into the powder and drew them as accurately as they could.

The last time they did that was 2 weeks ago, a week before the rest of the team found out about his powers. 

Dipping two of his fingers into the vase, he drew symbols onto the places that were left untouched by the dust. He can still remember the placements of each symbol, vivid like he was reading straight out of Lance’s book.

The more he drew, the less space Keith had to move around in. Barely managing to finish off the last symbol, he heard the closet door creak open. Turning around, he saw how nervous Lance was. His right hand clung onto his left arm, attempting to hide the outfit.

That was the problem. The Lance he knew wasn’t insecure about how he looked. And there was no problem with the suit, he looked great! The black and blue of his outfit dominated over the silver accents, reminding him vaguely of his witch outfit. 

Why was he so embarrassed?

He got his answer when Lance noticed how the red paladin eyed him. “I look weird, don’t I? Sorry, I just. . .,” Lance took a deep breath, “I’ve never actually been into this sort of thing. Dressing up for diplomatic meetings and ballrooms. Sure, back on Earth there was prom, but we never actually had to dress up like this. Just a normal tux. It was fun most of the time. But in this suit, I just feel stupid.”

Keith was careful to not accidentally step on the dust drawings as he quickly rushed over to the other boy. “Hey. Listen, I’m not into this kind of thing, too. To be completely honest, I just want to go back to the castle in my armor and train. But trust me when I say that you look amazing.”

That brought a smile to Lance’s lips, much better than his unsure pout. “Thanks Keith. And thank Luna I didn’t decide to cut your mullet off. There was a pair of scissors right there- “He was cut off with a playful punch to the arm. 

“You are unbelievable.”

“Unbelievably awesome.”

Yep, there was Lance back. He’d prefer this Lance over sad Lance any tick of any dobashe of any quintent. A boy who’s smiles can cheer anyone up. Any smile on Lance was worth seeing.

The two turned towards the sigil that laid on the floor. Lance took a deep breath before raising his hand, the dust following his movement. With the remainder of his energy, he poured it all into summoning Dakota. Focusing onto the sphere that was now creating dents and bulges- forming into a familiar wolf.

Lance wanted to collapse in on himself as he heard the wolf’s paws softly land on the ground. He was drained. He still can’t fight Vesta in this state, and he knew that Dakota versus Luna knows how many summons wouldn’t be a good idea, either.

The summons Vesta had were weak, sure, but in numbers and with a witch like Vesta; they wouldn’t last long. If he was going to do this: he needed more energy, the paladins needed to be ready for a fight, and Dakota needs someone to fight with because Lance was definitely going to face off with the green witch.

And for some reason, he knew that Vesta had more than weak summons up her sleeve. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be wasting quintessence summoning so many servants. Dakota has to fight a much stronger summon, the paladins would have to face off with the weak summons, and he’d battle with Vesta.

This was going peachy.

_My friend, you are in distress. Is everything alright?_

Keith stiffened beside him but the Cuban paid no mind. Lance shook his head. “No. We’re in another witch’s castle. She somehow lured us into the planet with some sort of electromagnetic field. Which meant she had to amplify the moon’s energy. I’m completely drained, and everyone is in danger. Dakota, I need your help.”

It almost seemed like the wolf nodded in approval. It was a short nod of understanding as he sat down to listen to what his summoner needed of him. But, he looked stressed. Keith was tense beside him as well. He likes to think that maybe the red paladin likes him, so why was he so tense? 

_Of course, how can I be of assistance?_

“We need you to somehow get back to the castle. It should have landed a distance from here but I’m sure you can make it. I need you to grab my satchel, it has my gem and a few potions,” Lance said, scratching the back of his neck. 

_Of course. And might I say both you and Keith look rather nice tonight. For being in the castle of a witch that enslaves summons, you two seem to be having a blast. Don’t tell Keith, though._

Lance gave a nod before- “UHM.” Keith said before covering his mouth. The two looked at him in question, seeing the pinballs of sweat running down his forehead. Feeling the pressure pressed on him, he removed his hands before clearing his throat. “Thanks, I guess. We’re not having that much of a good time, though.”

The two froze, eyes locked on Keith. Calm atmosphere turned thick almost immediately. This feels like déjà vu, from the first time Keith met Dakota. From the first time Lance trusted him with something important. From the first time he opened up to Keith.

“YOU CAN TALK TO HIM!?”

Yep definitely déjà vu. 

“I can hear what he’s saying, but. . .,” Keith looked over to take a look of the wolf, “he’s doing the same thing he uses to talk to you. Mental. . . telepathic. . . magic. . .?” Again, Keith wasn’t so fluent of the arts of quintessence. But out of the entire team, Keith helped Lance the most in making things he needed for his powers.

_Did you draw my sigil, by any chance?_

Keith gave a short nod. “Lance started it but I was the one to finish. He was the one who enchanted your dust and summoned you- how can I hear what you’re saying?” Don’t get him wrong, finally being able to talk to Dakota was great, but Keith wanted answers.

_Ah. Then this makes sense. You see, you and I have a strong bond. You and Lance also have a strong bond, obviously stronger than mine since you only see me periodically. With this sort of connection, your quintessence becomes mingled with Lance’s in a certain way. Now, I suppose that us talking would be something we have to get used to._

_A connection like this may foreshadow plenty of things in the future. But for now, I’m going to say that something like this has its perks. All you need to do is find them out._

Before the two paladins questioned what Dakota meant, they heard the soft knocking on the doors. All heads turned towards the double doors. “Excuse me, my liege?” A voice, easily recognized as Tizok’s, rang through the door, “The others are already finished changing, is there any problems I may help with? Should I come in?”

“UH- “Keith blurted out, panic settling in everyone’s chest. The blue paladin sprints towards the large windows and opened them; letting the cold breeze come in. “Um, give us a second. Lance is. . .” The red paladin paused to think of an excuse as Lance ushered Dakota outside.

“. . . being a drama queen and won’t decide on an outfit,” Keith was able to yell. Lance whipped his head to glare at the mullet-haired boy while the wolf jumped out of the window. He turned back to shut the windows as quietly yet quickly as possible. “Alright, he’s done! We’re coming out!”

The Cuban walked over and punched his teammate’s arm, both in offense but in a playful manner. Walking towards the door, he can faintly hear the witch whisper a small ‘quiznak you.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I'll be updating sometime next week. i do plan to start an au of this au (does that make sense) where it takes place in a modern setting. They'll be updated once a week, sooo. . .
> 
> I mean, I don't know if you guys will read it or not so. . .
> 
> You know what, I'm starting the draft.


	14. Chapter 14: Run away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well you know. . . Having a tyrant like you as our master seemed too much to bear. I’d much rather leave than stay a day longer in this personal hell.” The way the summon said it, it was like a sassy girl in the medieval era.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> August 16, 2018
> 
> Me: *Working on school project for the next day at literally 3am*  
> Laptop: *Starts glitching out*  
> Me: Nani the fuck?  
> Laptop: *Suddenly shuts down*  
> Me: Nani the fuck?!  
> Laptop: *Won't turn on*  
> Me: NANI THE ACTUAL FUCK!?!?!?!?
> 
> So, my laptop stopped working and had to get it repaired. Have been suffering without it for the rest of the monthof august. I got it back a few days ago but I was so swamped with homework, i didn't have the time to do the chapter. But I have the time now! 
> 
> *Yeets new chapter*
> 
> Yay! I'm still broken from season 7!

When Lance and Keith left their room, they were met with Tizok and their waiting teammates, seemingly too uncomfortable to start conversation while the summon was in vicinity. Their heads all perked up when the two stepped out of the room.

“Greetings, my superiors!” Tizok greeted happily, “You are all expected at the dining room immediately. Come, follow me.” And with that, Tizok trudged forward, not sparing a glance behind to ensure they were following him. Maybe because he knew they didn’t have any other choice. 

As they followed the summon, Pidge focused intently on the directions they were going. 1 left, 1 right, go straight in two intersections then take the next to lefts. Shiro was talking to Keith and Allura while Hunk and Lance were lagging behind the group.

The yellow paladin didn’t exactly look like he was in the brightest of moods. “I. . . saw something that might be troubling,” Hunk said, playing with his thumbs. Lance raised an eyebrow, observing how his best friend took a shaky breath in. 

“I saw one of the maid-summons try and run out of the castle while I was changing,” Hunk started, “It somehow disrupted an alarm or something because as soon as she ran out, a group of summons with some sort of dog pack came chasing after her.”

Lance closed his eyes and wondered how Dakota was doing. He can’t tell the team that he sent his own summon out yet, too many summons around to hear. “When?” he muttered, “When did that happen?”

“I think right before I left the room. A couple of dobashes after you and Keith finished changing. I hope she made it out okay. . .” Hunk trailed off, “The dog pack looked like they were fast enough to catch her. I just hope she makes it out alright.”

The witch nods. “No summon deserves to be treated like a slave.” His gaze drops to the ground. “It’s one of the most inhumane things a summoner can do to their summon.”

They stopped in front of large double doors, Tizok stepping forward to push them open. As the doors swung open, a large table with numerous chairs lining up to its sides greeted them. From grand chandeliers to very intricate designed- table mats, the room looked like it was pulled out of a movie scene.

Sitting down on the chairs closest to them, they watched as Tizok left the room- shutting the doors behind him with a slight click. Finally, no one but the team are here. Keith and Lance exchanged looks before setting their gazes on their teammates.

“Alright, so we were able to send Dakota out to grab my things. He might take a while- so for now; we try and play nice with Vesta,” Lance informed them, slightly concerned the walls could somehow listen to them. 

Pidge groaned in frustration as Hunk scrunched his face like he had eaten something sour. Allura’s folded hands seemed to clench slightly and Shiro nodded. “I agree. If we attack now, she’ll have us on the ground in no time. We’re both outnumbered and outpowered, we’re in no position to fight.”

The green paladin wanted to break the shimmering centerpiece in front of her. “But- She’s so-!” She was able to stutter out. “-SHE MURDERED SOMEONE IN COLD BLOOD. I mean, the galra could be worse- sure- but they treat her like some sort of supernatural deity and she treats them like literal dirt!”

“Yeah, I don’t like how this is going. . .” Hunk stammered. “. . . But I think we shouldn’t attack her first. Let’s just enjoy the food and have small chit-chat with the corrupted and abusive witch-lady!” His tone was trying to be honey-sweet, only coming out as a nervous stuttering of words. 

The Altean adjusted uncomfortably on her seat, wincing slightly. “Lance. . .” She continued to flinch. “I. . . think she did something to me.” That got everyone’s attention. “When she hugged me. . . I could feel a sort of itch when she placed her hands on my back. But when I went to my room to change. . .”

She wore a beautiful silver mermaid dress that hugged her curves tightly, with matching high heels and long gloves to boot. Her hair, from the normal bun, was let down, flowing freely onto her back. She must’ve done a bit of makeup, too.

What Lance failed to notice at first glance was the zipper that ran down her back. She turned around and asked Pidge, the person who sat beside her, to unzip it. The green paladin was hesitant at first before following orders, reluctantly sliding the zipper down. 

What they saw made their hearts stop.

A green tattoo had covered her back completely, intricate designs and all. A symbol. A symbol engraved on Allura’s tanned skin. It looked like a complicated symbol, too- not like the symbols Lance was capable of making at the moment. The thought of Vesta being able to curse them with a single hug made Lance’s blood run cold. 

Shiro shot up from his seat, eyes glued on the tattoo. The team noticed their leader’s hand curl into a fist. “W-what is that. . .” Shiro’s tone was soaked in concern, “. . . thing doing on the princess’s back?” 

The blue paladin shrunk in on himself, feeling a sense of helplessness. He, the witch of the team, can’t do anything to help Allura. Not even tell her what that symbol can do because he was pretty damn sure that his grandma didn’t write it in the several books she wrote.

His gaze dropped to the ground, feeling utterly useless. “I. . I don’t know. It’s a symbol of some sort, I’m not sure exactly what but it can’t be any good. Just, hold on a little longer. Once I get my gem and we get out of here, I’ll do everything I can to get it off you.”

The princess nodded, trusting the paladin. She can feel Pidge pull up the zipper, the tips of her trembling fingers brushing against the smooth tattoo. It took everything in the small gremlin to not flinch away from the drawing like it was some sort of contagious disease.

The two girls sat back down, the others trying to calm down from their newest discovery. Vesta sure as hell be ready for a fight once Dakota comes back.

They can hear clinking sounds getting louder and louder, heels tapping on the marble ground. They all looked up once the door opened, revealing a fancied-up Vesta. A mash of olive green, lime green and yellow green with grand gold accessories. From her earrings to the ornaments on her gown, she seemed to be a green galaxy filled with golden stars.

Hopefully that galaxy would get swallowed up by a fucking black hole.

Lance couldn’t help but compare Vesta with Pidge. They were opposites, really. Vesta was the tallest among the paladins, dark skin, long, unnatural-colored hair and extravagant clothing. Pidge was the shortest, peach skin, short naturally- honey colored hair and in a simple green dress with a few bronze accents. 

The only thing similar about the two was their choice of color.

The green witch took a seat at the head of the table. Typical. She lifted both her hands before clapping softly. The paladins weren’t given the chance to register her actions before the sound of the doors slamming open shot through the room. They turned to see a number of summons, all holding different plates of cuisine. 

They were dressed fancily, in maid and butler outfits- much like a few that were running past them at the hallway. Their hair was neatly groomed and they all looked somewhat. . . dismissive of how they’re treated. Their eyes showed no glimmer of hope for escape from this slavery, murdered from the decades of serving this ‘goddess’.

Somehow in some way, they’ll set them all free. That was a silent promise the moon witch made with the rushing summons.

Large plates of different foods were lined in the middle of the long table, ready to let anyone grab them from their seats. There were various colored salads, fruits, and meat presented lavishly on the silver platters, a few summons were even pouring a type of wine (?) from a bottle into the fancy goblet-like glasses. 

Once everything was fine and settled, each of them stood at the gap of each chair. Their hands were folded behind their backs, waiting for their next order. None spared a glance at the food, nor to the paladins. Their eyes were locked onto the wall in front of them.

This was uncomfortable, to say the least. Having such dead beings stand beside you, having no intention of interaction. The paladins adjusted uncomfortably on their seats, Allura flinching from the pain of her back. Vesta must not have taken notice.

Shiro clears his throat loudly, garnering the attention of everyone seated on the table. “Um, Vesta. Perhaps it’s best to have the summons leave? I mean, this is a formal event- after all. Shouldn’t it be just us?”

The green witch looked at him, seemingly amused. Like for some reason, the black paladin has said the most stupid thing in the universe. Lance felt the need to intervene. “Okay. Yeah. I agree with Shiro. Can we have the summons leave, please? They’re making us uncomfortable.” Vesta raised an eyebrow as he eyes locked with his. Lance coughed. “They’re making me uncomfortable.”

At that rephrasing, Vesta perked up. “Ah yes, of course! Summons, vacate the-“ Her command was cut off when the doors burst open. Two knight summons held a struggling summon. Her pink dress was dirtied and ripped at the ends, ruffled and wrinkled from her struggling. 

She looked like she was running, her crystal-clear heels covered in mud and leaves. Her dark brown hair was in a mess, the tie that tied it back into a bun was on the verge of falling off her hair. She looked at the green witch, a visible growl brewing out of her throat.

From her remark, one of the knights elbowed her in the stomach. The summon coughed. If she was made out of blood, Lance was positive she’d be coughing some up. The summon still had her fighting spirit intact, however. “Greetings, my goddess.” She said it with as much venom and sarcasm as she could.

Vesta stood up, seemingly glaring daggers at her. “My. Look at you.” She walked over, her hand grabbing the weaker’s chin. She tilted her head a bit, examining the freckles sprinkled across her face. “You’ve dirtied yourself up. Tell me, why would you go out and run away like that?”

She knew? Yeah, that seemed right. This must’ve been the summon Hunk saw. She triggered the dome barrier, of course Vesta would know about this. But she was dressed up fancily, in spite of the condition of her clothes. 

“Well you know. . . Having a tyrant like you as our master seemed too much to bear. I’d much rather leave than stay a day longer in this personal hell.” The way the summon said it, it was like a sassy girl in the medieval era. 

Vesta lifted her hand up before slapping the summon in front of her. Everyone seemed to flinch at the awful sound that echoed around the room, even the knights that held her still.

“How dare you say such dirt you insolent idiot!” The witch yelled, causing the summon to curl in on herself as much as she could. “You’re just a maid! I can destroy your physical form and let you rot in the dark abyss of non-existence. You know as much as everyone that I will be your final summoner.”

The summon glared at the witch. “I’d much rather perish than let you command me.” Vesta seemed to grow redder in anger. “And for the record, I’m not a maid. I’m one of the ballroom dancers. You need me, and you know it. You know you don’t have anymore summons to dance with your guests.”

The green witch flinched, seemingly remembering she had an audience. She turned back to face them, faced with multiple concerned and fearful gazes. She whipped her head back to the summon. “After tonight, I’ll have your dust splattered on the wall-“ Vesta paused, trying to remember the summon’s name.

“Wow, I am surprised to know that my summoner can’t remember their summon’s name,” She spat out, grinning triumphantly. The knights visibly flinched. “My name is Zaphra. Summon number 152 of the era 12”

Summon number, era? What the heck? Summons aren’t a type of robot or android. They shouldn’t be labeled as a number. And how can a summoner not know their summon’s name. It comes with the quintessential bond!

“Very well, Zaphra.” Vesta turned away, her eyes still on the summon as she looked over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at the ballroom after dinner.” With that; the knights, along with Irene, turned around and marched out of the room. The doors slammed shut behind them as Vesta took back her seat. 

Her serious frown turned into an apologetic smile. “Apologies, my friends. Just another rebellious spirit trying to break out of the natural order. It is nothing special.” Nothing special? Nani the fuck? Summons actually trying to leave their master is not only unhealthy for the summon, but for the summoner themselves!

Vesta looked at the only summons remaining, silently ordering them to leave. They did as ordered, all turning away from the table and rushing out of the room. Huh, Lance almost forgot that he asked for them to leave.

“After dinner, we shall all go to the ballroom and dance in celebration of your visit. I have the best dancer summons in your disposal.” In our disposal?! “However, for now. . .”

“Let us eat!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was shit, sorry. I feel like I'm getting rusty from the lack of writing.  
> Sorry for the hella late update.  
> Sorry for the extremely bad chapter.  
> Sorry for making you wait so long for something shitty like this.
> 
> Edit: OKAY SO I JUST SAW HOW MANY HITS AND KUDOS THIS FIC HIT/  
> WE HIT THE 500 KUDOS MILESTONE, 600 RIGHT NOW.  
> AND I'M SO. . . CONFUSED?!?!? LIKE HOW CAN ANYONE LIKE THIS.
> 
> BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I AM SO SORRY FOR THE SHITTY CHAPTER!


	15. HELLA IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a celebration for the 700 kudos and 7000 hit milestone :)

I know what you're thinking No, I am not ending the series. This is just a little announcement on this au!

 

So, if any of you read the author's notes at the end of each fic; you'll know I posted the idea of making a modern version of this.

 

And well

 

***Jazz hands***

 

**It's officially out :D**

 

I am not even that good at writing, why am I even hopeful for this fic T^T

 

But hey, if you like [modern moon child](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15691821/chapters/36463020) < click that. It's a chain link, it should take you to the fic

 

 

SO yeah...

 

. . .

 

I have a confession to make

 

This has been out since like, last month

 

I just posted one chapter and I had zero idea where to put the story at.

 

The first chap is basically me testing the waters.

BUT I UPLOADED TWO NEW CHAPS JUST NOW

AND I PLAN TO CONTINUE IT

 

So

 

Um

 

Yeaah

 

 

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR OVERWHELMING SUPPORT, BY THE WAY!

LIKE, WHEN I TRY TO SELF DEPRECATE- YOU GUYS JUST CHEER ME UP???

PLEASE STOP??? LET ME SUFFER IN MY LITTLE AUTHOR'S CORNER!

*crawls into corner*

. . . 

*crawls back out*

I really do like reading those kinds of comments. They make my day just reading them. 

I'm not exactly talented in anything. The only other thing I'm decent at other than writing is drawing. And my writing skills are just as bad as my art ones.

But you guys just rise my self esteem and confidence through the roof.

 

I really appreciate you guys. Writing and art are the only things that help me through the days. My family, though I love them and I know they love me, are neglectful at times. We barely talk. But I guess I'm part of the blame cuz I never really leave my room.

 

So when I write, it's most likely because I'm in one of those depressive times and I just need something to cheer myself up. When I finish writing a chapter, I feel elevated and happier- like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Same goes for art.

 

And when I read comments and feedback with so much support, it just makes me feel better about myself.

 

So, I just wanted to say

 

Thank you :)

 

(I plan to update this fic soon,I proooomise!)


	16. Chapter 15: Dinner Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I was wondering when you'd ask that," her voice was tired and resigned, "it was inevitable, I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, guys!!!  
> So. Um.  
> This chapter is a dumpster fire. Ain't gonna lie. 
> 
> I'll just put important points at the end notes.
> 
> Um.
> 
> My laptop broke again.
> 
> But I need to relieve some stress and shit so I'm writing on my phone. 
> 
> Not the most comfortable experience but. . .
> 
> :3
> 
> If you're willing to read, then enjoy

The table was silent, for the most part. The only sounds were metal utensils meeting ceramic plates. None of the paladins dared to speak a word after what they had just witnessed.

It was when Vesta spoke that shattered the almost peaceful stillness. "So, Lance," she spoke eagerly, like they were about to talk about a game or an event, "Just where did you learn witchcraft? You seem rather. . . Inexperienced."

The blue paladin swallowed down whatever meat he had just eaten. "Maybe because I didn't live out 10,000 decaphoebs yet, unlike you," Lance responded. 

"10,053, young witch," Vesta corrected. "I was 32 decaphoebs old when our kind had been completely wiped out." Her gaze downcast slightly. The moon witch can swear he can see remorse, sadness and guilt in her eyes. It only lasted a second, however. She looked back up not a tick later, all signs of her grief disappearing in an instant. Do all witches have a talent of hiding their sorrow and pain from others?

All the Cuban can do was nod, slightly. "Sorry, you just look so young. I learned my witchcraft from my grandmother, Anna. She let me read spell books she made herself. Though, I'm sure most of them were adapted from other spell books she had read in her time." 

Lance realized this was the first time he told the team this, other than Keith. From their time keeping his magic a secret; the red paladin was willing to lend an ear to his stories and tales about witches. He also told him about how the witches on Earth were killed off. But he already knew that. He doubts that the humans seated around him were unaware of the worldwide witch hunt.

He took a moment to collect himself, wondering if he should tell Vesta how the human witches were killed off. A part of him wondered if she already knew. But a larger part disagreed. She believes all of them were wiped out thousands of years ago. Maybe this can help enlighten her? 

Lance took a deep breath before speaking his next words, careful and cautious. "Actually, Vesta, there is something you need to know," he said slowly, gaze falling onto his almost empty plate, "The planet I came from, Earth, had human witches long after the witches from other parts of the universe were killed. "

The sound of metal hit ceramic, clinking throughout the room. Everyone looked up to the source of the sound. What they were met with was something not everyone expected. The corners of her eyes held tears waiting ro slide down her cheek. Her green eyes glued to the spoon that fell on her plate. Her mouth slightly ajar, bottom lip trembling: trying to stop the sob that threatened to bubble out her throat. 

The person seated at the head of the table was someone they hadn't met yet. She was not the plastic queen they had first met, one of happy smiles and courteous manner. Nor the corrupted goddess that abused her summons. No, what they saw was a broken woman. A woman who had gone through too much loss and pain to be considered sane.

He needed to tell the witch the whole story before she got her hopes too high. "For 10,000 years, witches were able to hide away from normal humans. So did other magical entities that lived on Earth. But," his eyes, once on his plate, were now attempting to look at the green witch. They locked eyes. Hopeful, broken, green eyes meet mourning, broken, blue ones. "Roughly 12 years ago, Earth's government had launched WWH. The worldwide witch hunt."

The humans seated on the table tensed. Keith had shut his eyes, a scowl making its way through his face. Pidge and Hunk were shocked but immediately looked down on their plates. Shiro looked like he was ready to break the goblet he held into pieces. They can hear Allura mutter a quiet 'oh' as she covered her mouth. 

Vesta's shoulders dropped. The lunar witch can see the hope in her eyes break away, shatter into a million pieces. The tears that threatened to ruin her mascara had spilt down her cheeks, makeup running down with them. He stopped and wondered if he should lay down everything on the table. 

"2 years later, they had announced the extinction of all witches."

A part of him inside breaks. Maybe it was because of the weeping woman in front of him. Maybe it was because it was a reminder of how lonely being the only witch alive was in his teen years. Maybe it was because it was a cruel reminder of his entire species being endangered. On the verge of actual extinction.

The green witch grasped both of her hands and held them both close to her chest. Her eyes screwed shut as her head slightly dropped. It was almost like she was praying. Maybe she was. Praying to her deity. Praying to the souls of the dead witches. Praying to loved ones. Praying to a loved one.

She grabbed a napkin and used it to wipe away the black cosmetic that stained her tanned skin. Everyone watched as she tilted her head back up; a smile, so painfully forced, painted onto her face. It was like she wore a mask, all deceiving but her eyes. Maybe it was just Lance, but he can still see the broken woman in her eyes; screaming and wailing in grief and sorrow that had been bottled for more than 10,000 years. He had to look away, it was almost too painful to watch that woman thrash and agonize in her own guilt and anger. 

"Well, that is. . ." A pause. It felt like she needed it to recollect herself, ". . . Unfortunate news. At least witch kind has lived out longer than I had expected. They must not have touched your planet, seeing as though it was a more primitive planet than others. I am sorry if your grandmother was killed in it. You must've been much younger."

He swallowed down all guilt, burying it in the back of his mind. A place where it can creep back up on him at night, when he is alone at night. Free to cry and weep for himself. "No. My grandmother had passed of old age long before she was found out. I lost her when I was 6." A part of him wonders if she would have lived longer if she knew about WWH. She had died a year or two before it had happened, but he can still remember her last words to him.

The paladins looked at him, apologetic and pitiful. Keith didn't look at him that way, instead planting his hand on the witch's shoulder, gaze almost glaring at Vesta. It was enough to ground the paladin back into the situation.

He let his head clear of various emotions that cluttered his thoughts. Anger, grief, guilt. . . He tried to banish them from his mind. But he knew they'd come back, back when his anxiety would get the better of him. For now, however, his head and mind were cleared.

How long had Keith's hand been on his shoulder? A few ticks? A dobashe? He really did hope that he didn't make the paladin too uncomfortable.

With his mind somewhat cleared, a question was trying to bubble out of his throat. He had to stop and think first. Was this a good idea? Vesta is already in a bad enough mood to answer this. But he needed to know. He wanted to know. To give him some sort of rest for his endangered species

He glanced at the paladin next to him, who dropped his hand at their sudden eye contact. A few ticks later, he cleared his throat. All eyes were on him. "Um, Vesta," He began, "How were. . . How were the witches wiped out?" 

The guests could see the nature witch's body tense. Her eyes dropped shut and took a deep breath. "I was wondering when you'd ask that," her voice was tired and resigned, "it was inevitable, I know."

"10,021 years ago; the former paladins of Voltron had opened a rift in our universe. This rift had generated waves of strong quintessence. Waves that circulated throughout the entire universe. These waves were so strong, it corrupted witches that were affected.

“These corrupted witches lost their sense of humanity. They started attacking other people around them. Planet leaders took this as a bad omen, executing and killing every witch that lived on their planet. 

“My planet, Rubania, was no exception. The only reason I survived was because I never told anyone of my abilities. I am a nature witch, one of the weakest of our kind. I didn’t want to be seen as such. 

“Altea was also another planet that had saved their witches. Mostly because they all have naturally strong quintessence. But they were not bounded to anything, unlike you and I. They had normal quintessence, just a larger amount.”

Emerald eyes stared at the Altean, cocking an eyebrow as she observed her figure. The princess held tears in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Her clenched fists wrinkled the skirt of her dress, almost looking like she would tear it if she had the chance.

“Ah, yes.” Allura said, managing a small, forced smile, “I remember that happening. Planet leaders would come to Altea and demand we bring out our wizards and sorcerers. My father refused and they soon left. I was a child back then, so I never really understood the weight of the situation.”

The green witch looked at her curiously. “Your father. . . Are you princess Allura?” her eyes were wide and her expression shocked. She grinned as the princess nodded. “My! How were you able to survive the Galran attack? And how are you still alive? I never knew Alteans could live such a long life!”

The princess explained how her father made her go to cryosleep right before he went on to face Zarkon. How the castle of lions was stationed on Arus while they fought on Altea. 

Shiro had started to comfort the teary princess. But the green paladin beside her looked at the green witch curiously. “Wait, how did you live for 10,000 years?!”

The nature witch looked offended at the question, disgusted even. The sudden switch of behavior disturbed the paladin. “I am Rubanian, our life span is much longer than your filthy species. And also watch your manners! They are revolting, child. Know your place!” 

Something clicked in Pidge's mind, her curious pout turned into a scowl. “CHILD?!” She yelled out, slamming her fists on the table as she stood up, “YOU WANNA GO, BITCH?!” 

Hunk stood up and grabbed the gremlin before she could do anything dumb. She flailed in his arms, resisting before finally going limp in his arms. The two paladin glared at the witch, who glared back with just as much anger. 

Lance stood from his table. “I heard we were going to the ballroom, right? That’s why you needed that Zaphra summon? Why don’t we all just go there and relax, there is no need to fight!”

His eyes scanned the room, the table in front of him. Keith was sweating paintballs beside him. Vesta still glared at Pidge and Hunk (mostly Pidge). Shiro had almost fully calmed Allura down. 

The green witch's sudden change of behavior was alarming. Lance had almost thought they were able to save her from her lust of power. But that was false hope. Deep inside he knew this ‘goddess’ front she puts up is just a façade to cover up a broken and mourning woman. Maybe it was too late? 

But then, her scowl turned into a honey sweet smile.

“Yes, let's”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie so important points.
> 
> -Witches went extinct because the waves from the rift the former paladin opened corrupted them. 
> 
> -They started killing citizens and people so the planet leaders hunted down every witch they could find and killed them.
> 
> -Human witches exist. You would know if you read the modernized version.
> 
> -they were killed off because of WWH (Worldwide witch hunt). Also part of modernized version.
> 
>  
> 
> -Vesta survived this long because she is Rubanian, her species can last up to 100,000 decaphoebs. Or could.
> 
> -Vesta only survived because she never told anyone about her witchcraft since she didn't want to be known as the weak nature witch. 
> 
> -Nature/green witches were weak compared to other witches.
> 
> -Celestial witches (Witches bounded to the stars and planets and comets etc) were the rarest and the strongest.
> 
> -moon witches are the rarest of them all.
> 
> -moon witches are one of the strongest, too. However, their strength really depends on their experience.
> 
> -Pidge is mad.
> 
> Writing on a phone is infuriating.
> 
> Oh well :3
> 
> Imma update the modernized version either today or tomorrow.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed.
> 
> ...
> 
> ...Love you guys <3.


	17. Chapter 16: Ivorine ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A ballroom dance turns into a dance of swords

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyyy. 8k hits :D  
> Thank ya'll so much!!  
> I really do hope you enjoy this chapter. *pushes chap in front of you*
> 
> it took forever to do this with the onslaught of school work going on.

They walked down the long hallways, the tapping of their feet filling the silent air. The summons that had usually roam the halls and busy themselves were no where to be seen. The only summon was Tizok, leading them to where the source of the faint music was coming from.

Lance lagged behind the group, the cold grasp of realization wrapping around his heart. He was the last of the witches. Or at least, the sane ones. The only other witches he were aware of were Vesta, a power hungry witch, and Haggar, a witch who was all sorts of wrong.

What if he ends up like them? Corrupted and twisted by his own power? Lotor saw what he looked like. He knows he's the blue paladin. It was false hope telling him the prince wouldn’t do anything to him.

Experiment? Suck his quintessence out of his body? Torture using his own magic? His mind searched for any possible motives the Galran prince has in store. He was petrified.

The other paladins took notice of the Cuban's slowing steps. They all came to a stop and approached the boy with caution, like he was a wild animal. An animal ready to run away from any threats.

“Hey, Lance. . .?” Hunk questioned, putting a hand on his back. His best friend seemed to jolt out of whatever trance he was in, looking up with a hum. His face was curious, but his eyes betray him. The yellow paladin could tell he was on the verge of tears.

Hunk panicked for a bit before repositioning his hand onto his shoulder. “Dude, come on. What's wrong?” The boy opened his mouth, about to answer when he was cut off. “And don’t you dare say you’re fine or it’s nothing. Something is clearly wrong.”

His jaw snapped shut, gaze dropping to the ground in guilt. He took a few seconds before he finally found his voice again. “Just. . . The fact I’m one of the few witches left just. . . Does something to me. . . Just being one of the last of any species feels. . .”, he seemingly stooped down as he found the word that could help describe what he was feeling, “. . . Depressing.”

The group took a moment to register what they just heard. Allura was about to speak when they heard two loud claps. They turned to see Tizok looking impatient, but tried to keep a kind smile. “We need to hurry, my superiors. Vesta won’t be pleased with me if I brought you in late.”

Lance was the one who walked past the others, following Tizok down the corridor. His teammates followed him, worried and concerned. Never had they heard their cheerful witch so defeated and weak.

The red paladin caught up with his rival, walking side by side. “Lance. . .?” he looked at the witch, looking for any sign of what has gotten the tanned male so distressed, “Lance, talk to me. . . We just want to help.”

But Keith knew that there wasn’t much he nor the team could do to help. How can they help someone who’s literally part of an endangered race? The most they can really do was comfort him, or make him think of something else.

“So. . .,” Keith started. He was never really good with conversations. “. . . Hey, you told me one of your sisters break dances in her free time. Rachel, was it? And her group was called C.R.O.W.N.? First letters of their names make up the title?”

Lance's drooped head perked up with sudden interest. “How do you still. . .?” his question trailed off.

“Oh and your mother was into salsa? You said she dances with the radio at the kitchen? And your nephew is starting up ballet?” Keith continued, watching blue eyes spark with recognition . “And Louis' freestyle group wanted to join the school dance competition once? And you had to pretend you were a student to join them cuz they were missing a member?”

The witch stared in disbelief, the corners of his mouth perking up as the thought that someone as hotheaded as the red paladin could remember things that the homesick boy would talk about.

Honestly, he thought that the other paid his stories no mind. But now that he thinks about it. . .

Tizok turns around, large double doors behind him. “Ladies and gentleman,” his smile only widened as the doors behind him flew wide open, “Welcome to the Ivorine ball!”

The room behind the summon could be compared to what Lance could only describe as ‘from a Disney movie.’ A large crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling. Luscious potted plants lined the walls with flowering vines crept themselves into the walls.

Summons filled the room, bringing the entire atmosphere into life. They were chatting away, smiles on their faces. They were all so painfully forced. The abnormally large smiles and way too cheerful and loud talking gave it away.

“why do we even need a ball. . .?” Pidge asked as she hid behind Hunk. She was never the type to go to these things.

Shiro sighed and spared a look at the princess. Her weak state was growing more and more obvious. The bags in her eyes, the sinking of her cheeks. She looked tired and fatigued, like she hasn’t slept in a year. That mark was the obvious cause.

They stepped into the ballroom, the doors swinging shut behind them. Tizok was no where to be found. He must have left the ballroom, if there were assigned summons for ‘ballroom dancing’ then the other summons must have strict positions in the palace.

Music was played at the platform in the corner. The tune could parallel with the renaissance or classical music of Earth, with the instruments used.

The paladins scattered into the sea of summons, all having different destinations in mind. Team PUNK went to the large buffet table, seeing it’s the only place they can blend in. The leader figures walked towards a spot in the room where they could talk as privately as they could.

In an effort to cheer the Cuban up, Keith followed the witch. He looked like he was searching for something, or someone. The half-Galran wondered who he might be looking for. He watched as the Cuban approached a girl.

The same girl who was brought into the dining hall with a ruined gown and filthy shoes. The dancer who burned with such anger, spite and determination where only Keith could barely beat. The summon who had bad mouthed her summoner right in front of her.

The woman standing in front of the witch right now.

The raven-haired boy stepped towards the pair, stopping at Lance's side. The couple’s attention turned to him.

Zaphra raised an eyebrow, an amused grin on her face. “And another one of our esteemed guests has approached me. I feel so honored to be in your presence,” she curtsied in mock grace, tone soaked in sarcasm. But It wasn’t alike the sarcasm she used on her summoner. No, this one felt more playful and teasing. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Keith held in the urge to roll his eyes at the summon's playfulness, but the boy beside him stepped forward. “Zaphra, right? We need to talk to you,” the lady raised an eyebrow, “we want to take down Vesta.”

Surprise and shock flashed on her face immediately, moving to cover the tan boy’s mouth. “Shhh! Do you really wish for the others to hear your plans?! None of these summons could be trusted. They’’ll be telling that damn witch anything-“ her hand drops to her side, “- if it means they get to be on her good side.”

The two humans were confused. Don’t the summons want change? The right to live freely as their own person? Don’t they want freedom? ~~Don’t they want to be alive?~~

The girl's eyes dropped to the ground as she held onto her right arm. “If we’re on her good side, then we have a lesser chance of. . .” she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. It felt like the sheer mention of death would bring back the memories of the summons who tried to escape. Who tried to live independent of their summoner. Who tried to live.

“We understand,” Lance stated, a warm smile stretching across his face. “But everyone has the right to live for themselves. We want to stop her rein. What do you know about her?”

Her gaze was still attached to the ground, looking down at her new pink and white dress. She wasn’t much of a dress person. Once these strangers defeat Vesta and free the summons from her captivity, she'll rip off the fluffy fabric in a heartbeat.

Her legs were meant for fighting, kicking, running, jumping and so much more, but she knew they weren’t supposed to be used for elegant and graceful dances. She despised her role but kept it quiet for eras. Heaven knows what happens to summons who refuses their presented role.

But when her eyes looked at the guests, she can feel hope burning within her chest.

“Alright,” the two males perked up, “first of all, Vesta will arrive at any moment. Most likely, she’ll dance with the most honorable of your group.”

Zaphra's eyes lingered onto Lance, who seemed to get the hint. “Can you use your powers? I heard the goddess somehow poisoned the quintessence of the moon, dragging your ship into the planet. A force of some sort.”

She knew for a fact how this happened. Vesta was lonely and was weak. She casted out the distress signal to lure in other people and steal their quintessence. She didn’t expect to catch Voltron, and most definitely did not mean to attract a lunar witch. Lucky day.

The Cuban shook his head, ”No, but my summon ran out of the castle to get my gem from our ship.” He paused to process the summon's confused face before realizing what he said. “Oh! My gem gives me energy to use my powers. I could use the moon but both the quintessential poisoning and the dome restricts me from doing so.”

The summon let out a small ‘ah', hand cupping her chin to think. “Let us hope your friend gets here after you finish your dance. I'll make a distraction while all of you prep up. I do hope you assist me before she destroys my physical body.”

They both nodded. Lance doesn’t know Zaphra's sigil, nor does he know anyone else's sigil. Not Tizok nor Melias. If their body is destroyed; it’s the equivalent of death. And both paladin understood the intensity of the situation.

“I'll tell the others what the plan is,” Keith said.

The blue witch turned to him, “Just don’t let anyone hear you.”

“And blend into the crowd. We do not want anyone to be suspicious of you,” Zaphra hissed.

With another nod, he walked away from the two; disappearing into the crowd. He sort of wished he could spare Kogane a dance.

There was an annual event back at the garrison when the teaching staff decide to let them have a school day off. Usually, a Saturday. They would have a party since the only time they get to have the day off was on Sundays.

On his sophomore year, the staff decided on something other than drunken parties the students usually held. They saw it fit to have a space themed prom. Everyone thought if was boring and cliché but hey; a day off is a day off.

He can remember being separated from Hunk after trying to flirt with a girl. Sasha. A name he can barely remember now. She was a novice engineer trainee. She was loud, noisy, and social. The girl was cute, so he decided to try and take his chances.

Someone spiked the punch, he realized after giving Sasha a cup. He didn’t get one luckily, he wasn’t too thirsty.

He edged away from the drunken and horny woman, hiding himself away into the dance floor. It was a lively event, in spite of it being a prom. Mission failed for the teachers, he supposed.

He can recall the exact moment he saw Keith. He was swirling some of the punch in his cup, obviously inspecting before drinking it. But the alcohol wasn’t too visible in the bright pink substance.

Lance already knew the boy was a violent person. Seeing him drunk and angry at someone is not something he would like to let happen. Not on his watch. He ran to the buffet table, where the mullet stood in front of, and smacked the cup to the ground.

Keith looked angry when they locked eyes. But the jokester pulled an innocent smile, “it's spiked. Don’t drink it, it’s heavy stuff.”

With a huff, he can still remember the paler teen hitting his shoulder as he walked passed him. How could he still not remember who he was when they rescued Shiro?! He basically helped him evade a bad fight. He prevented him from being one of the majority of students who passed out before midnight!

But hey, the plus side was that he found Hunk unconscious on the hallway, a red cup in hand. His best friend had a shit tolerance for drinks.

Snapping out of his day dream, he can hear doors opening and the summons going silent. He looked at where the doors were supposed to be and saw Vesta. Her make up was fixed, and her smile was as fake as ever. He can still see her crying.

He can feel a hand on his shoulder. He whipped his head around to see the rebellious girl, smiling at him. “Good luck, my friend,” she whispered, before giving him a small push. She turned around and vanished into the crowd.

He didn’t want to dance with her! He can barely dance ballroom. He can do the waltz- sure -but actual ballroom dancing, nope. He can’t do any formal dances if it cost him his legs. Think. Think. Think.

Vests approaches him, a small smile on her lips. When their eyes meet, it falters ever so slightly. Lance gives her a pitiful look, knowing that she truly isn’t okay. No one's eyes can never deceive.

The green witch must’ve known, for she passed him without so much as a second thought. “I refuse to dance with someone who looks at me with such pity,” she can hear her whisper. She grabbed the wrist of another summon a few steps behind him.

The man yelped, either in fear or shock. But once the goddess has chosen her dancing partner, the music had resumed playing. The music was much livelier than before, bringing the entire room to a dance.

Everyone held onto their partner as they danced in sync. All except Lance, who stood in the middle of the dance floor. He wanted out. He couldn’t tell what was worse; dancing with a psycho witch or standing alone in a sea of dancing couples.

He felt like all eyes on him, judging him for being so alone. He needed to get out. He had to get out. With a deep breath, he moved through the dancers. It was a miracle he hasn’t bumped into anyone yet.

Maybe he can stand off at the side? The other paladins must have thought the same thing, it was either that or they’re dancing with each other or another summon? Right?

Wait, hasn’t he passed that couple already? Right turn. No, he's seen that same lady a few turns before. Left turn. He's seen this group of dancers already!

He was stuck, hopelessly stuck. He can’t find a way out of this cursed sea. Their movements keep confusing him as to where to go. He did go straight, didn’t he? So why can he see Vesta and the male summon dancing a few feet in front of him? How did he make a full on circle to back where he started?

Confused, he started to take a few steps back; almost hitting a couple. They’re judging him. Everyone is judging him. Get out. Get out. Get out. Get-

Something grips his hand, pulling him onto a body. The stranger's other hand making its way on Lance's hip. Blue eyes met lilac ones. A rich royal purple. An entire galaxy to get lost in if you stare long enough. Keith.

The mullet only spared a second for the witch to process what was happening before they started moving. For balance, a tanned hand gripped onto the paler one’s shoulder.

How were Keith and Lance eye leveled? Wasn’t the half Galran a few inches shorter than him before? He can remember all those sleepless nights back at the castle. Training his craft instead of sleeping like everyone else in the ship at those hours. Ah. That’s why.

The witch was lost for a moment; in his thoughts or in something else; he had no clue. But once he snapped out of his trance, his confusion clouded his mind. “What the quiznacking fuck are you doing, Ke-“

The sentence was cut short when he felt himself dip backwards, one foot flung upwards to maintain balance. He has never been so confused in his life. When he was pulled back on his feet, he noticed the other couples do the same thing.

“We’re supposed to blend in, remember?” Keith whisper-shouts, “you looked like a lost puppy out there.”

The Cuban huffed before he felt the other twirl him. He was caught in his arms a tick later. “Did you find the others? Were you able to tell them?” Lance inquired.

Keith nodded, pulling the other closer. “Yeah. They have their bayards on them already. So do I. As soon as you get your gem, we’re ready to fight.”

He gripped onto the Cuban's hand before spinning him away then reeling him back. Back into his arms, they stared. Their brains must have went out to lunch or something because they just continued to be in sync with everyone else.

An arm snaked around Lance's waist. The Cuban wrapped his arms around the other's neck. It was funny, how they were dancing together so seriously. Isn’t dancing supposed to be fun?

Black and blue danced with white and red. Unlike the other couples who wore matching colored outfits. They stood out, like a flower in the middle of a pile of gray rocks.

They stood out, but neither felt any shame. One pulled the other closer. The other fitted comfortably between two arms. They were no longer certain if they were in sync with the crowd. But neither paladin cared.

A fond smile grew on the witch's face. _**~~His Sun-~~**_

Something shattered from where the buffet table stood, thus shattering the trance between the two. The music must’ve stopped. For how long? They had no idea. Were they dancing with no music? Why were they even dancing in the first place?

“My people!” a familiar voice shouts as someone steps on the table, knocking off the delicacies laid on it. Zaphra. “For generations, we have served under this witch. We have devoted our lives to our summoner, just like what we had done to our previous. But this isn’t any other summoner we had the pleasure of having!

She has built us together like we are bricks. Trained us like dogs. Treated us like dirt! But she will be our final summoner, so why not use our final life to live independent?!”

A tap on the window could be heard. The two paladins turned to see the familiar wolf, satchel in hand. . . Or more so in jaw. The witch unwrapped himself from the other before bolting for the window. He can hear a pair of footsteps follow close behind him.

Hands met cold glass, separating them from the large wolf. “Good job, Dakota! You're just in time,” he whispered, opening the window.

_The Altean was able to get the castle to reverse engineer the force into his benefit. The castle should be here in a few dobashes._

“Then we better take care of Vesta fast,” Keith said as he saw Lance swipe his satchel out of the summon's jaw. He dug into the bag before pulling out the shining rock. “Got it!”

Zaphra's speech stopped as her summoner gripped her neck tightly, cutting off any air from coming in. Summons don’t need air, but it did stop the girl from speaking any further.

“I should have dealt with you during dinner,” Vesta's voice was filled with such venom and malice as she gripped tighter. Everyone witnessing this knew that the dancer’s body won’t last much longer.

The rush of adrenaline you get when you’re about to take a life is exhilarating. Their breath choking and desperate hands scratching as you can feel their quintessence flicker out was addicting. Every witch knows how good it feels to feel one's life energy dim beneath their feet. A sinister smile crept into her face, a dark chuckle so quiet only the two girls can hear. “Goodbye-“

A sharp pain runs down her side. Her scream echoed throughout the room, the palace. She dropped Zaphra, whose hands felt around for any sort of bruise.

The side of her dress was burned off from the energy that hit her. She whipped her head, seeing the lunar witch with a glowing necklace looking back at her. “Vesta, this ends now!”

Summons all around sprint out of the room as the knight summons rushed in. The four paladins pulled out their bayards. The princess was weak and unarmed, but she managed to disarm one of the knights, grabbing the staff close to her.

Lance took heed of this. “Guys! Don’t kill anyone. They’re only obeying Vesta, they’re innocent!”

“Easier said than done, bud!” Hunk said. He brought down the brunt of the cannon down into a couple of knights, knocking them down.

Dakota curled behind his summoner, ready to attack. Like Lance had expected, Vesta twirled her hand around.

What he hasn’t noticed before was what the ceiling held. A sigil. A large sigil that covered it. With a flick of her wrist, the dust started to glow and form into a being.

A roar sounded throughout the room and all heads looked up. A tree being stood in the center, towering over everyone. An ent. Holes on its trunk opened up, resembling dark, hollow eyes. The hole that let out the roar turned into a scowl as he glared down the wolf and his master.

A large branch-like arm was brought down. The blue paladin jumped out of the way while the wolf backed off and jumped on the branch. The tree squinted his empty eyes in frustration as he brought his arm up, wolf holding on it.

No one could stay and watch, having their own battle in their hands. The vines started to shoot themselves towards the blue paladin, cracking and destroying where Lance had barely gotten out of in time.

Drawing two of his fingers out of a clenched fist, he started to throw his own attacks at his opponent. It was clear Vesta was not built to fight. She was used to taking the lives of others with just a grip of her hand.

But when it came to the common grounds, she had the upper hand. Breaking through the marble floors were roots, all aimed toward Lance. Every step seemed to attract another root to spring out of the ground.

White crescents of energy cut through the forest of roots, some aimed at the green witch, herself. She barely dodged them, heels working to her disadvantage as she continuously tripped over them. The long dress wasn’t helping, either.

A plan was needed. The ent was the biggest issue. Dakota paled in comparison to the large beast. The paladins seemed to have the knights under control, knocking them all out. But that didn’t stop them from getting back up.

This was bad. This was really bad.

A root almost impaled the witch if he hadn’t stepped backwards in time. But in the adrenaline of the moment, his mind conjures up a plan.

The roots of the ent made his bottom half look somewhat spider like, large thick roots balancing the upper body.

The blue paladin broke into a sprint, throwing attacks at the green witch to keep her distracted from what he had planned. A path of roots formed behind him. Good.

He moved under the ent, and watched as the roots started to shoot up into the large tree. He had to keep moving and attacking, or his plan would backfire.

The ent roared in pain and watched as the wolf dove into his mouth. It was a hollow tree trunk inside, as expected. Dakota’s claws started to destroy the ent from the inside. With that, plus the external damage, the tree dropped onto the ground. Lance jumped away to safety, seeing this summon scamper out of the tree.

“NO!” he can hear the green witch scream. But her tone did not suggest that she was upset because her greatest fighter had fallen. It almost felt like she cried out because she lost someone she cared for.

In a desperate attempt of self-preservation, more plants turned to attack the lunar witch. Thorns, leaves, vines, roots and so much more came at the witch at once. Lance teleported out of the way, and charged at the green witch.

She had a wicked grin on. Anyone can mistake it for insanity. Determination. Blood lust. Her eyes betrayed her. Her eyes spoke different of what she wanted Lance to believe. She was surrendering.

He was unarmed when he charged at her, but a moment later he held onto a pole. The other end had a crescent shaped blade on it. It had pierced through the green witch's side. She choked for air as tears started to drizzle down her cheeks. Her pupils were contracted and blood dripped down both her wound and her mouth. The red started to stain the rich green fabric. ~~**He never wanted this.**~~

Realization struck him. Something that Lance had never prepared for. Basic 1 + 1 logic. Without a summoner. . . There can be no summon.

And now the summoner of a hundred summons has dropped dead in front of him. What has he done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sips coffee because my body will shut down without it*
> 
> I am so sorry.  
> I hope this was decent.


	18. Chapter 17: The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They deal with Vesta's death the next day, when the sun shines for a brighter future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *stares at draft of modern moon child*
> 
> Hmm...
> 
> *looks at draft for original moon child*
> 
> HMMM.

**There is so much blood.**

 

**There shouldn’t be this much blood. . .**

 

**. . .She's dead. . .**

 

**She's dead.**

 

**She's dead!**

 

 **You killed her**.

 

**Murderer.**

 

“Lance?” A hand planted itself on the Cuban's shoulder. He whips head around. Keith.

 

The paler male frowns worriedly, his grip tightening once he noticed blue eyes painted in inner conflict. The fact that the witch put no effort to ease his teammate’s concern just made it feel worse.

 

The red paladin sighed. “Listen. I know last night was. . . Eventful,” Keith was just trying to put it as simple as he could, “but you can’t let that affect you nor the mission. We saved these summons from slavery. We should be celebrating!”

 

His tone was cheerful, it almost set the blue paladin at ease. But that cursed image lurked back into his mind.

 

_A woman; a scared, broken, grieving woman who just wanted to connect with the last of her kind; crumpled down in front of him. The way she looked at him when the scythe cut through her side. Disbelief. Betrayal. Pain that buried deeper than physical._

 

_The way she fell back when the blade left her body. Her cold, cloudy and dead eyes rolling back as she fell. The way her body fell backwards, like she merely fainted. Her body positioned in a weird way when it landed on the ground. It was like the lifeless body of a puppet, its strings cut off._

 

_He gripped the scythe tighter as realization of what he has done sunk in. Tears began to stream down his cheeks, his bottom lip quivering. The war around him seemingly stopped as soon as they heard the soft thud of the goddess’ ~~body~~ corpse._

 

_The summons fell silent, waiting for their inevitable deaths. Their summoner is dead. The source of their quintessence is gone. They're going to die. Death by quintessence withdrawal is by far the most painful death known. They’re going to die screaming._

 

_But it never came._

 

_Silence filled the air as everyone watched each other’s movements. It took them a couple of dobashes before they realized that they would live._

 

_Slowly, summons started clapping. The applause was soon accompanied with cheering. Then shouts of glee. They were free. The goddess is dead. They were free. ~~But why was there so much blood?~~_

 

“We shouldn’t celebrate someone’s death.” His voice was broken when he spoke. Broken and small and yet it still contained coldness and regret. Why wouldn’t he regret it?

 

It made him realize so much. The Galran lives they took to complete their missions and save other lives. Yes, they were at war; but those soldiers stationed to be killed by Voltron weren’t only robot sentries. Some were alive. They ~~have~~ had families. They ~~have~~ had passions and dreams. They ~~are~~ were alive.

 

He tried to steady his breathing, chasing away those recent memories into the back of his mind and locking them away. But the lock isn’t that strong. They’ll break through again. They’ll haunt him again. In the dead of the night, when he’s alone in his bed. Where no one can save him from himself.

 

“Lance…” the red paladin was worried. Everyone saw how he reacted when he killed Vesta. Seeing his face, filled with trauma and shock, everyone can tell that this would forever plague his mind. But. . . “if you need someone to talk to, the whole team are willing to listen. Me included.”

 

The Cuban let out a sigh, smiling. “Yeah, I guess I do have you guys.”

 

“Lunar witch! Lunar witch!” a group of summons approached the two. They stopped in front if them, smiling gleefully. “And the red paladin is here, too! Perfect!” one pointed out.

 

A male summon stepped forward, bowing slightly. “We’re here to inform you that the monument of Voltron is about to be finished. We want all of the paladins to be present at the grand reveal!”

 

Keith chuckled, shaking his head. “You guys haven’t even finished making your own houses yet and you just finished a statue?”

 

One summon at the back of group perked up. “We still have the castle for shelter. Besides, we’re already finished with a few buildings.” Curious, the two looked over to where construction was.

 

Already, a few buildings stand tall. Summons busy themselves, making their new independent community the best step they can take. The sun lighting the surrounding forest gave a peaceful bliss to the planet. They liberated the planet. Shouldn’t he be proud?

 

The summons ushered the two paladins to where the Voltron statue was to be revealed. There; they caught sight of the others, being greeted by other summons. However, majority were around Allura, who tried to wave them away. She had a nervous smile on her face, which only turned to one of relief when she saw the blue and red paladins approach her.

 

“Oh! Hello Lance, Keith! Do you need me for something?” the way she asked sounded like she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Her audience didn’t seem to mind the new company.

 

“Are you feeling alright now, princess?”

 

“Do you need anything? Food? Water?”

 

“The princess obviously needs to rest! Her eyebags must weigh a ton.”

 

“Can we see that mark again? Please?”

 

The summons crowded around her even more. Lance recognized one of them from the dining hall and another one who ushered around the plant area. He can even remember one of them as the knight summons.

 

“I. . . Think that’s enough looking at my back. I must really attend to my paladins.” A series of groans followed her sentiment, but they left her to attend to other businesses.

 

The Altean approached the two, a thankful smile gracing her face. “I appreciate you two coming. The summons are nice but. . . Bothersome.” Allura seemed to bring out the last word.

 

“Looked like it,” Keith smiled, crossing his arms.

 

Lance rolled his eyes, “How are you, by the way? And what did the medic summon say?”

“Ah! Zion told me to simply take it easy the next few quintants. I never realized how tiring it was to keep so many summons alive.”

 

That mark wasn’t sucking out Allura's quintessence, like they had first suspected. Well, maybe in some form it is?

 

Vesta casted that mark on her because of her strong pure quintessence. The mark makes Allura the summons’ quintessence source. The goddess could have picked Lance, but she didn’t. They were confused at first, but they deduced it to the fact that she had more compassion for the witch rather than the Altean, thus burdening the princess instead.

 

~~It was like she knew that she would die by their hand.~~

 

No one knew why she did so. But the paladins can only guess it was a way to help Vesta regain full strength. Not having the burden of sharing her quintessence would have boosted her magic ten fold. Or maybe it already had, during the fight. Maybe Vesta fought in her full power, since Allura already had the mark by then. ~~She was still weak.~~

 

“It was a close call. I forgot summons coexist with their summoners. If Vesta hadn’t done that, there wouldn’t be a celebration today,” Lance said, smiling.

 

They walked over to where the statue stood, a large white cloth covering it. They can see the others talking to more summons.

 

Hunk was with a few of the gardener and kitchen summons. The summons gifted him with ingredients and spices. Looks like they’re going to have a feast tonight.

 

The green paladin was talking with a few summons who were in charge of construction. They had blueprints and plans, the small girl pointing out where each building should be and what buildings to build. “I have experience. I’ve been building cities in Minecraft since I was 7.”

 

Shiro talked with what the summons called their government. There were three summons who held all authority, much like presidents or dictators. One was in charge of keeping the knights in check. Another organized everything for Vesta. The most recognizable was Zaphra. These three were their best leader figures.

 

And Coran was talking with a few summons, exchanging gift and souvenirs.

 

The day was blurry for Lance. He can remember sticking close to Keith before hanging around Hunk and Pidge. The statue was revealed, he can remember it was made out of marble, and it was expertly sculpted.

 

Other than that, the only thing he could clearly remember was them leaving.

 

* * *

 

“Lance, my boy!” Coran jogged up behind him, cheery as always.

 

“Hey Coran, what’s up?” he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

 

Coran was smiling like he had won the lottery. “The summons were nice enough to leave you a gift! Their entire magic archive!” Lance perked up, “They're all in your room. I also finished printing your grandmother’s spell books, they should be somewhere in your room. I also took the liberty of making your room more comfortable in terms of reading.”

 

With a quick thank you, he hurried along to his room. He was already headed there to get some shut eye, but maybe he’ll get zero of it.

 

The doors swirved open, revealing stacks of books scattered around the room, and something told him they were all organized. On the end of his room, however, was a table and chair with a lamp on it. There was a small stack of books on his table, familiar books.

 

He locked the door behind him and threw his satchel on his bed. It hit the mattress with a soft thud. He moved forward, looking over the stack. Nostalgia filled his chest as a smile crept onto his face.

 

Yep, definitely not getting any sleep tonight.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like how i wrote this 
> 
> But then again my writing style is garbage.
> 
> Thank you for all the lovely comments! They inspire me so much.
> 
> I'm sorry if the book is getting boring.


	19. Chapter 18: A rush of nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just a chap of fluff. I just. . . Hehehe 
> 
> Idk just read the chapter if you want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *clear throat*
> 
> I came back sooner than expected, didn't I?

It was a typical Sunday morning for Lance. He watched as the white clouds drifted slowly above him, like sailboats making their way through the clear, blue seas. The white clumps of condensed air took many forms that the imagination morphed into interesting shapes and sizes.

 

A turtle was being chased by a gun, who was tailed by a ship. He can see a lion's head and the shape of a sheep, looking down at the curious young boy. His hand extended to them, like he can grab them and keep them in his pocket. But that was just the naivety of a young 5 year old.

 

He can feel long, slender fingers brush themselves into his hair, no doubt messing the natural curls a bit. But he ignored it, instead keeping his attention on the flock of birds that decided to fly over the yard.

 

Maybe granny's singing brought them here?

 

Her voice could attract anybody, calm every beast and entertain the coldest of people. He would know, for he can hear her sing right now.

 

The voice seemed to echo in the skies, like she was some sort of angel. She probably was, in a way. Never has he met anyone as kind-hearted as her. Her motto has always been ‘protect the innocents but protect your own first.’ Family over strangers. It planted into his heart, not knowing that it would grow into a stubborn tree. The saying won’t leave his mind.

 

Even if the rest of his family hated him in some way or form.

 

He saw the looks they gave him when he reads granny’s books. The murmurs and whispers behind his back weren’t left unnoticed by him. And he definitely knew about the fights he caused between his parents.

 

5 years old, and he still knew how much of a mess his family is. But family does not necessarily mean they had to be bound by blood. Family is where you feel at home at, where you belong. And right now, it was his grandmother.

 

His head was on her lap, a pillow meant to ease him. Her songs brought him comfort and ease. This was a common tradition, so common he could probably sing along with her in perfect accuracy.

 

He grew bored of the sky, now devoid of clouds. Turning to his side, he let out a contented sigh. “Granny. . .?” Lance can still feel her fingers card through his hair, “if I was like my siblings and avoided you, would you be lonely?”

 

He can hear her breath come out as a sigh, her fingers slightly tensing before continuing to play with his hair. “Maybe. I am too weak to have Ivory or any other summons around for too long. And I am certainly too old for a pet. I would die before I could give it a good life.”

 

Lance hums in response. “Do you hate them? For making you lonely?”

 

“No, niño.” Granny barely knew Spanish, much like Lance at this age. She did know that niño meant child. “My mija has married a man with the intentions of keeping his family safe from anything that threatens their safety. He is not a coward, and I am happy she married him. Even if he sees me as a threat to my own grandchildren, to my own daughter; I will respect his decision and love them all the same.”

 

“But can you really call them family? You never belonged with them and they don’t like you!” he looked up to meet her blue eyes. It matched his.

 

Her eyes were filled with sorrow and disdain as she shook her head. “I suppose not. But we are blood related, not only that but I have raised my daughter with all the love in the world. Even if we are no longer family, I will still love them.”

 

The young child sat up, tearing his gaze from the old woman. He just stared at his bruised legs. He tripped on the way here. “Mama and Papa loves me, but not the same way they love mis heramanas and hermanos” tears welled up in his eyes. “I hear them fighting about me. I don’t think my siblings love me too. Maybe they just like me a bit. They tease me and ignore me, but sometimes they’re nice.”

 

A tiny fist clenched into the grass. “Veronica said she wants to join the galaxy garrison and leave everyone behind. I want to go to space, too! I want to meet people who like me for me.” He looks at her, face filled with determination. “I’ll use my magic and become a fighter pilot and protect my world from baddies!”

 

Soft and floaty laughter left her lips. “But you do know the galaxy garrison is at America. You would be moving away from your family. My mija would miss you so much.”

 

He deflates all of a sudden, eyes downcast for a moment before looking back up. “They’re not family. You’re my family, but I don’t want to leave you.”

 

If it was even possible, Anna's heart both rose and fell. “I will not mind if you move away to help people,” Was all she could say.

 

The child laid back down on her lap, singing softly. The same song she had sung moments prior. She joined him after a few seconds, both parties looking up at the darkening sky.

 

* * *

 

 

“Where the fuck is Lance? He’s about to miss breakfast!” Pidge yelled out from her seat on the dining table, she can see Hunk set down their yellow waffles with blue syrup and red berries. That must be the most appetizing breakfast food she’s seen in months.

 

Shiro stabs his fork into the soft bread. “Probably resting. Let him sleep, Pidge. He must have used a lot of his energy the other night."

 

Her eyes glanced at the empty seat next to Keith, a steaming plate of waffles sitting there waiting to be taken by her. She can practically hear them calling for her. “Shiro, we haven’t seen him for 15 Vargas. I think he’s gotten enough sleep. Now someone wake his sorry ass up before I devour his waffles myself.”

 

She takes a bite of the waffles before scarfing them down. They taste amazing.

 

Hunk sits down, filling one of the three empty seats. Now there was only Allura's and Lance's left. “I made an extra batch, don’t worry,” he reassures the green paladin, who smiled with a mouthful of waffles and berries at him. “And I agree with Pidge, he never sleeps this long. . . Actually. . .”

 

Everyone looks at the yellow paladin with intrigue and curiosity. “I’ve been friends with him since we were kids and I know for a fact that Lance's energy bounces up from 0 to 100 really fast. Maybe it's best if someone does call him down.”

 

“Oh, I believe number 4 didn’t use up 15 Vargas for sleep,” Coran spoke up. “You see, the summons gave Lance a few gifts which I left in his room. When I told him, he bolted to his room faster than a wegracker on a cold day! I haven’t seen him since.”

 

Pidge snickered before swallowing down the waffle in her mouth. “I bet it’s a bunch of dildos-“ Hunk elbowed her, knocking the wind out of her lungs.

 

“Don’t be mean, Katie!” Shiro stated, glaring at the young girl. His eyes then moved to his waffles as he took another bite. “We would have heard him, anyways.”

 

The green paladin bursted into laughter, almost choking with the food left in her mouth. The larger male beside her stared at his leader, jaw dropped. “Shiro, what the quiznacking quiznack!?" Keith let out a dry chuckle.

 

“Wait. . .” The red paladin stops before turning to the ginger Altean. “Isn’t Lance number 3?”

 

Coran shrugs. “I base my numbers on your height. So the black paladin is one while the green paladin is five. You grew taller than him, thanks to Lance's sleeping habits. So now you are number 3.”

 

His eyes then met Shiro's. “The walls of the castle are soundproof. My grandfather made sure there was privacy in all bedrooms. So, no, we would not have heard him if he did have Earthen sex toys.”

 

That just erupted another fit of laughter from Katie. Her dry whispers of ‘Earthen sex toys' as she clenched her stomach brought dry laughs out of everyone.

 

It took a while before Pidge’s laughter dissolved, leaving a heavy breathing pigeon. She continued to devour the leftover waffles on her plate. After a few ticks, the sound of metal hitting the table caught their attention. They looked over and saw the gremlin finished with her waffles. “More. . .” she growled out.

 

“Oh geez, someone should really get him before Pidge eats his breakfast,” Hunk said before getting back up and starting for the kitchen. He hasn’t even touched his waffles yet.

 

It took a tick before the red paladin stood up, his chair grazing on the ground slightly. “I’ll go call him. Pidge don’t eat his plate while I’m gone.”

 

He walked towards the door, hearing the girl's “No promises!” behind him. The door swirved shut behind him as he passed through the halls.

 

Everyone seemed to have lightened up around Lance. It may have not been noticed by the witch but there was some sort of tension between him and the others when he first revealed his secret. Especially with Shiro. But after that fiasco with Vesta, he can safely say that they were all back on good terms.

 

His footsteps echoed through the empty corridor, ensuring his solitude. Allura was still in her bedroom, resting. Today was a free day since she couldn’t supervise them.

 

He stopped in front of the door to the blue paladin’s room. A hand drifted to the control panel beside it, the doors swishing open in front of him.

 

Now, he’s heard Lance talk about his habit with books. He told the mullet that he had read the Harry Potter and game of thrones series more times than he can count. He’s read the divergent and Hunger games trilogies a couple of hundred times. He even sheepishly admitted that he's read the selection.

 

Keith thought he just liked the books, but seeing the literal mountains of them cluttered around his room; he finally realizes how much of a book worm the witch really is.

 

Speaking of Lance, the Cuban was on a desk, slouched over. Feet maneuvered skillfully through the mess of books around him, careful not to step on any of them to reach the sleeping paladin.

 

He noticed his arms were folded, his head laying on them. An open book was beneath his arms. He must have passed out while reading, and he was surely out cold.

 

Another open book was beside him, a blunt pencil on it. There was a half written page full of chicken scratch and a sketch of a symbol that wasn’t finished. The following page was blank. Lance must be taking down important spells.

 

He also noticed one more thing. Brown locks curled into themselves, messy and untamed but it looked soft and fluffy. Keith wanted to run his fingers through his hair, but decided against it. He would be invading personal space.

 

Keith grabbed his teammate's shoulder and shook him. “Lance. . .?” he cooed out. When he had received no response, he shook him harder. But he was yet to receive a response.

 

The blue paladin was out as a rock. “Lance!” he finally yelled into his ear, causing the other male to wake up. He almost fell out of his chair, knocking off the stack of books on the side of the table before grabbing both ends of it, balancing himself.

 

He whipped his head to the male beside him, “What the quiznack, Keith?” he breathed out. The man in question held the urge to laugh at the bewildered face in front of him.

 

“Breakfast is ready and Pidge is going to eat your plate of waffles if you don't get up.” The witch lazily stood up, moving to grab the books that fell. Maybe if he mentions it. . . “Hey, I never knew you had curly hair.”

As soon as the words fell out of his mouth, so did the books Lance was able to pick up. He turned around, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “. . .I forgot to do my routine last night. . .” He admitted sheepishly, “I guess I was too busy reading.”

He grabbed a glass of water and was about to wet his hair straight before a hand grabbed his wrist. “Nope,” Keith said before dragging Lance through the book-littered ground, “breakfast first, routine later.”

 

* * *

 

Everyone else already left when the two paladins arrived. There were two plates of waffles, surely cold by now. It was unfamiliar to see the dining table so empty. Usually, They would be greeted with the others waiting for their food. But maybe they just don’t want to waste their day off.

 

They both took their seats and started eating. “Thank god Pidge didn’t eat ours. She wanted to eat them a few dobashes ago,” Keith snickered as he took another bite.

 

Lance hummed in pleasure. “Oh my Luna these are soooo good!” he takes another slice into his mouth, letting the flavour dissolve into his taste buds. “Hunk knows his food. Luna, I want an entire tub of these berries.”

 

They chatted through the five dobashes they took to finish their meal. Once their plates were empty, they both stood up.

 

“Well, I’m going to take a shower cause I feel gross.” He said, waving his hand goodbye.

 

But before he could leave, Keith yelled out to him, “You know you should keep your hair curly! It suits you.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” the blue paladin responded nonchalantly before the doors shut behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

He took one more look at the piece of paper. “What’s a good substitute for flour. . .?” Lance muttered as he looked around the kitchen. That sack seemed like a viable option, seeing as though it’s the only logical place to put the flour.

 

He opened it and a small cloud of light purple powder blew out of the small hole he made. It definitely wasn’t flour, but it smelt like it. . . Kinda. He finally took notice of the yellow sticky note on the sack's side.

 

_ A good sub for flour. Will also act as yeast if added sugar substitute to it before adding to recipe. _

 

Wow, Hunk must have had Coran or even the summons help him know what these ingredients can do. He grabbed a measuring cup and scooped up a full cup of the alien flour before sealing it away.

 

He went back to the counter, where the rest of the ingredients laid. They were all off colored, except for the milk and sugar; the sugar being a combination of both white and brown. The eggs of daporgs were bigger than chicken eggs, and they were the color of a fainted orange. The milk was from Kattlenecker.

 

More ingredients laid out in front of him as he went into work. Stirring the ingredients together and making sure everything was still organized and clean. He hummed out a familiar melody, echoing around him as the song bounced off the walls. The castle really was soundproof.

 

He was so caught up in his work that he failed to notice the doors open behind him. Nor did he notice the red paladin standing in front of the closing doors. “Lance?” he called.

 

The blue paladin turned around and flashed him a smile. “Hey Keith!” he greeted as he stirred the bowl he held in his left arm. His hair was still curly.

 

“What are you doing?” Keith asked as he stepped closer to inspect the contents of the bowl. It was a purplish colored dough.

 

Lance shrugged, a relaxed smile on his face. “Mm, just baking. Hunk is helping Pidge out with Rover 2 and I wanted to make cookies for everyone. Shiro and Coran look stressed thanks to the princess' condition, team PUNK are stressing over a robot, and your spending your day off training! Someone has to lighten up the mood.”

 

With another smile, he turns around and pours the dough into a tray. “Now, you can help me cut these cookies or you can leave me be. Either way, you still get a batch.”

 

Keith hesitated before joining his teammate. He grabbed one of Lance's homemade cookie cutters and started to cut out purple dough. He laughed when he finally realized the shape they were making the cookies into. “Witch hat cookies?” he muttered in disbelief.

 

The Cuban puffed out his chest as his hands were placed on his hips in a playful manner. “What? You think you’re too grown up for witch hat cookies? Too mature?” He teased in a way that made the both of them laugh

.

Keith shook his head no, trying to ease his laughter . “No, no! I think this is a cute idea. Stereotypical, in a way, but I’m sure the others would love it!”

 

“They better. This already took me a whole varga before you came along-“ He paused, realizing he wasn’t really taking check of the time, “-more or less.”

 

While the red paladin cut the dough into their designated shapes, the blue paladin finished another bowl and poured it into a spare tray. “Make sure not to waste any of it. Everyone should be able to get a dozen each.” He hums slightly, “Maybe the mice would like some, too.”

 

The cookies were dark purple when they came out of the oven. It was unsuspected but it fit well with the theme. The witch found light purple frosting and sprinkles and they both decorated them one by one. Lance had sung through the entire baking session, not that the other male minded. It was better than awkward silence. Way better.

 

Their goal was to make 96 cookies. However, they ended up making a few dozen cookies extra. They both silently agreed that they both deserved them. They were able to pack the cookies into plastic bags once they had cooled down, the ribbons that sealed them closed were color coded.

 

Keith grabbed the three bags with red ribbons and Lance grabbed the three bags with blue ribbons. The rest were all neatly placed on the table, in the middle of the mess they made.

 

The witch moved to clean up the mess with the help of his magic. The grains of powder and sugar, egg shells, wrappers and spare dough lifted up from the ground, making their way to the trash bin.

 

Meanwhile, the half Galran moved to the grab the dishes and went to the dishwasher. Sneaking a few licks of the cookie dough that stuck to the spoon.

 

* * *

 

Pidge seemed to enjoy the custom made peanut butter cookies. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course Lance would make custom cookies for the gremlin.
> 
> What do you think he is? 
> 
> So yeah, sorry if this was underwhelming. 
> 
> We're getting to the good part I proomise. 
> 
> Or maybe the part where y'all leave idk


	20. Chapter 19: training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was really the first time they trained with Lance using his powers. The witch was used to training solo when it came to his powers, and Voltron had no complaints.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am baaaaack from hell :D

It had been a few days since they left Vesta's planet. The team has already settled back into their regular routine. Morning training resumed a few days after Allura got out of bed and made a full recovery.

 

This was really the first time they trained with Lance using his powers. The witch was used to training solo when it came to his powers, and Voltron had no complaints. But his permission to use his powers with team training was definitely welcomed.

 

They stood in a circle, facing the scene around them. The training room, white walls a hefty distance away from them as they stood center. Their main goal today was freestyle fighting, in a way that it was similar to how they fight in the battlefield.

 

Enemies will spawn any second and without warning, so their guards were all the way to a hundred percent. They needed to protect themselves and each other, because once someone gets hit they start again. This was practice, maybe even a form of prevention from someone dying during a mission.

 

Keith charged forward, sword impaling a gladiator that had just appeared into the room. As soon as the blade was pulled out, it triggered more gladiators to spawn appear them. They were all ready to fight.

 

The paladins all surged forward, spilling into different directions as they took down their opponents one by one. They had long since passed level 1, the level Allura stated as "Beatable by an Altean toddler." Now, they were on level 12. A big step considering they barely got through level 1 when they first started.

 

The green rope wrapped itself around an unsuspecting gladiator and its owner yanked him towards her, the blade making its way through his skull. The rope unwrapped and she started slicing through the robots.

 

She caught sight of one trying to sneak up to Hunk, who was having a bit of trouble keeping his surroundings in check considering his bayard being a cannon-gun hybrid. The rope shot out of the handle, aimed straight for the robot. The blade hit right through him.

 

The yellow paladin turned around and smiled, giving a mouth 'thank you' before shooting down another group of enemies.

 

The black paladin sliced through the robots with ease, prosthetic glowing its classic purple as the heat helped him destroy the gladiators around him.

 

They failed to notice the new group of gladiators that spawned into the fight. They were buffer with guns instead of the usual staffs and swords, but the one in the center looked like he was meant to be the tank of the group. He had two machines built onto his shoulders.

 

The gladiators around him aimed and fired, the paladins barely having the time to pull up their shields before the lasers could hit them. They all started to walk backwards, into each other to form that same protective same circle from earlier.

 

"What do we do, I can't holdout for much longer!" Hunk yelled out as he ducked into the safety of light blue shield.

 

The bulky gladiator stared at the paladins before the machines on his shoulders started to whir to life. Machine guns.

 

The blue paladin, with no hesitation, started to draw something in the air, blue in place of where he drew. He looked around as his hand moved involuntarily. It was about to shoot at the red paladin behind him. The shield would most obviously have enough strength to withhold it, but that wasn't what they needed.

 

"Keith!" He yelled out as he threw a glowing ball down to the man's feet. It morphed into a sigil beneath his feet. It was clock-like, and the hands moved way too fast. At once, Keith knew exactly what to do.

 

In half a tick, he drew out his sword and deactivated his shield. His sword sliced through the lasers in inhuman speeds, deflecting them back at the robots on front of him. Once the sigil faded, the steaming metal remains of the gladiators were all that was left.

 

More spawned in place of the fallen, these having swords. They were fast and agile, kinda like Keith. At once, they jumped into the air. The paladins scattered before they could take a hit.

 

Lance ended up seeing the green paladin stumble and fall as she tripped on one of the metal pieces. One of these ninja robots stood in front of her. Muttering something under his breath, he pointed a finger at the droid. Once the words left his mouth, a large sphere flew right into the gladiator. Rust bloomed into its body, covering up the metal before it could strike. Its body fell onto the ground in bronze-like dust.

 

He missed the bewilderment in Pidge's face as he placed full attention on Shiro. He was on the ground, three swords all threatening to slice his face. The metal arm brought away the swords from him, but he looked like he was struggling.

 

He stomped his foot down and muttered a few words, his hand shooting towards them. The gladiators froze in place as ice started creeping from their joints. The black paladin took this opening and quickly sliced them all in one swipe.

 

Muttering more underneath his breath, he could feel sweat streaming down his forehead. He spotted Hunk taking down as many he can, lasers piercing through each robot in front of him. In front of him. The ones sneaking behind him went unnoticed.

 

He pointed his hand and started to slowly clench it. The metal of their bodies started to dent and crush within themselves. They were down in ticks.

 

More spawned in. This has to be the final wave, because there were just so many of them. He feels like he can pass out in any given minute. Or maybe in any tick.

 

He started chanting as he dodged lasers and gladiators. The other paladins sheltered themselves underneath the safety of their shields, but yelled out as they saw Lance. Once he knew he chanted the verse enough, his hand hit the ground.

 

The gladiators froze, their bodies at weird angles. He turned to the others. "Destroy them, now!" They all drew out their weapons and started taking them down, one by one.

 

Once the spell wore off, which took 10 ticks, they were all destroyed beneath their feet. Nothing spawned.

 

What did appear our of nowhere was clapping. "Good job paladins!" A cheery voice boomed through the intercom of the room. "You have just passed level 20!"

 

"No wonder it was way harder than level 13, you set us up, Coran!" Pidge yelled out as she pointed an accusing finger at the window above the door, where everyone knew Coran was watching.

 

That earned a laugh from Coran, "I know I lied to you all, but at least you made it through! Excellent work paladins; especially you, Lance. I have met great sorcerors and wizards before they went coo-coo and might I say you are on your way to being the strongest I've ever known."

 

Nervous laughter spilled out of his mouth. "Thanks Coran. I just picked the spells up a few nights ago. I barely had time to practice before today," Lance admitted sheepishly.

 

"You did great, Lance," Shiro praised, "I would never have guessed you started practicing those recently."

 

"You saved our asses," Pidge smirked.

 

Hunk perked up,"I didn't even seethose dudes!"

 

Keith took in a deep breath, catching everyone's attention. "Everything slowed down for me and it hella fucking cool. Whatever that sigil did really put the hurt on the gladiators."

 

Really, Lance loved the compliments and praise. It made all those nights of sleepless studying and reading worth it. But now, he needed to sleep. Gravity is working against his body, pulling him down with it. "Thanks, but I think I'm gonna hit the hay-"

 

The alarm roared through the castle.

 

* * *

 

The lions manuevered through the mass of lasers, explosions erupting through the empty void of space as they took down the fighter ships.

 

They have zero idea on how the Galra found out the coordinates of the Castle nor do they know who sent them. One thing was for sure, these were the same ships that had captured them before. Larger and bulkier than the previous models.

 

But just like before, they took them down after a few dobashes. They were about to celebrate when a larger ship, a command ship, wormed in front of them, bringing in more ships. Way more ships.

 

They started attacking at once, and everything turned back into chaos. They were drastically outnumbered and outpowered, the best they could do was retreat and wormhole away. And that's exactly what Shiro ordered.

 

"Allura, wormhole, NOW!"

 

In that tick to say that, something shot out of the command ship. A laser aimed straight for the black lion. Only one noticed from the battle around them, and he kicked up his thrusters to max as he bolted for the targeted ship.

 

"SHIRO!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why hello there *sips*
> 
> Am I doing a good job at writing? I feel like I haven't...
> 
> Cuz i read through this and i have zero idea how to fix it.


	21. Chapter 20: Abandoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Farewell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry

His head hurt. A lot.

"I... aimed...... black..."

Luna, his body was stiff and everything hurt.

"...Lion... got.... way..."

Energy flowed through him like water down a stream; gentle and calm.

"But... Prince.... bounty.... this lion?"

His mind grew less hazy, trying to process what was happening. Where was he? What happened?

"More.... bounty.... paladin..."

Growling echoed through his mind; protective and defensive but still held fear in her tone.

"Blue...?"

"How.....quiznack... do we get in?"

His body suddenly snapped up, mind finally catching up to the situation he was in. He knocked Shiro away from the blast, saving his leader. But he got caught instead.

He looked up to see two large galra outside the blue particle barrier. They were knocking on it, like she would open up for them. She'll only open up for her paladin, not for barbaric purple war cats.

"Prince Lotor said how much?"

"5 million Gac."

"Quiznack, all for a paladin. What if we bring the lion, too? Think he'll double the reward?"

"Hope so."

Lotor put a bounty on him. A bounty. On him. That thought made his blood run cold. The prince wants him captured and brought to him. What could he possibly want with Lance? His quintessence, most likely. Suck it all out of his body and use it for a robeast.

If he gave his gem, would he be spared? Probably not. The gem is practically useless without someone wielding the same energy as it. And he was the last of the moon witches. He was quiznacked if he doesn't get out of this ship.

He grabbed onto the controls in front of him. "Blue? You okay girl? Can you get us out of here?"

A soft purring sounded through his mind, followed by a whimper. A screen popped up in front of him. Initial energy levels were drained, but there was a bit of reserve power left.

**Reserve energy levels: 15%**

"T-that low?! What did that laser do to you, girl?" The lion whined in pain, but sent a feeling of reassurance through him. She can make it. She was confident. The need to save her paladin was stronger than the need of rest.

"We can destroy the ship from the inside, then we can escape." The confidence in his chest disappeared when he realized the life forms in the ship.

He hardly showed it, but he hated killing people. Who doesn't? Knowing that they had their own lives and families. He masked his fear and disgust in change of confidence and jokes.

Hunk and Pidge were no different, he can tell. Hunk; a literal angel who, before Voltron, would never think of hurting a fly and Pidge; a 15 year old who was looking for her family.

He knew Keith and Shiro would rather be back on Earth, too. With Shiro's history with the Galra and Keith's...

What did Keith have on Earth...?

In space he has team Voltron. In space, he found half his heritage. In space, he belonged.

He belonged to team Voltron, all of them did. All of them. Even him. They praised him just a while ago. Said he was improving.

But what if he didn't have powers?

A loud roar went through his mind like a bullet, chasing away his thoughts back to the dark corner in his mind. The reality of the situation dropped onto him once again. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just focus on getting you out of here."

A low, threatening growl echoed through his head.

"Us. Us out of here..." he corrected himself, earning a pleased purr from the sentient robot.

He pushed the controls forwards, the lion standing up upon command. The two galras stepped backwards and drew their weapons. They aimed at the lion, feeling the atmosphere tense around them.

It was still for a few ticks as Lance glanced at the percentage of energy. 15%. He took a deep breath, forming a quick plan.

The lion roared, mouth charging a blue light. With few seconds to react, the lion blasted a hole into the hangar doors and bolted out. Lasers were raining after them, but they were out the door and put of harms way. Blue whined.

**13%**

They needed to get out of their sight. "Keep it together, blue, just for a bit." Thrusters blared up, the lion speeding through space.

**12%**

**11%**

**10%**

The ship was long gone. And they took many turns for them to track them down.

**9%**

**8%**

A planet was up ahead. It was brown, all throughout and black clouds lined the atmosphere. The surface was all fractured and cracked, visible in such a distance away. It looked dead. Why was a planet so dead?

**7%**

They just needed to get into the atmosphere, into the gravitational pull of the planet. They would crash land, sure; but surely it was better than floating in space.

**6%**

**5%**

"Hold on!" He yelled out as he suddenly turned off all power. The lion fell into the surface of the planet, heat surrounding the cockpit. Almost frying the paladin inside if it weren't for the temperature adjusters of his armor. But the coldest setting the armor could provide was barely enough to keep him from being barbequed.

A few agonizing ticks concluded when he was thrown forward, hitting the control panel in front of him.

With a groan, he looked up to see barren land. It looked exactly as it did a thousand miles away; brown, deserted, dead. But what he failed to notice from afar was the dead plants around him. Large trees now wilted down and brown bushes lay dead on the ground.

Lance pushed himself up, wincing from the slight pain in his side. The gem was doing its job, healing the part where the pain was. His hand gripped onto the blue rock, hanging on his neck by a silver chain.

He moved forward and pressed the button he knew sent a distress signal. Voltron will find their location. They'll find blue.

He stripped himself of his armor and body suit, replacing it with his witch uniform. The armor laid on the pilot seat neatly. The blue bayard laid on top of it.

It took him a few dobashes to finally gather the strength to leave his lion. There wasn't much of a view from his position on the ground, but an idea popped into his mind.

He prayed to Luna that it was there, and pulled a victorious grin as he fished out his journal from his satchel. And thank past Lance he thought of saving the 3 bags of cookies in his bag. He had his journal, pen, food, an empty flask, his phone and...

He had no papers to summon Dakota.

God damnit past Lance.

He must've used the last one when he ~~killed~~ fought Vesta. With a frustrated grunt, he grabbed the empty flask and scooped up as much dirt as it could hold.

Once he was satisfied with its weight, he looked up at the lion's head. He knew it was a good vantage spot to get a good look at the planet.

He flipped his journal open, flipping it to where a certain sigil was drawn. He found out about it last night, and it was a good find, too.

With his left hand, he started to lace his quintessence into the dry dirt. He had debated with himself for a bit before deciding to save his energy by using the dust to draw the sigil.

Now, he's learned to use his pure quintessence to draw sigils like he did for Keith; but it was much more draining. And he was still a little winded from both the fight and training.

A bit of the blue powder was poured onto his fingers. Admiring how light it felt, he started to use it to draw the circle in front of him. The sigil wasn't too complicated, either, so it only took his careful hands a few ticks to have the sigil ready.

He threw the sigil down to his feet, blue glowing beneath him. With a small mental command, the sigil carried him up to the top of blue's head. Once he was leveled with the head, he hopped off the sigil and let it fade back into dust.

At a distance, he could see structures that weren't made by the planet. People live here? How do they survive with no water nor food? He'll find out soon, though.

But his attention went back to his lion, who whined in worry. "Don't worry girl..." he smiled, the smile itself traced with sadness and hope. "... They'll find you..."

Another roar pierced through his mind. It was filled with anger and fear. How dare he try to leave her?! But Lance knew exactly what he was doing.

"Listen, Lotor put a bounty on me. On me. Not on you. But anyone who does catch me with you will probably drag you along with them. Forming Voltron is way more important than me."

Another roar, but he ignored it. His mind went through all possible scenarios. If his team did find them and brought them back, he'd put the entire team in danger. The Galra will always be searching for them. That's why they attacked the castle earlier. For him.

The Galra weren't focused on them after Zarkon died, but they were still one of their main priorities. No, their main objective was to get as many planets under their control as soon as possible. Lotor was smarter than his father, who was so caught up with black. Everyone finally had a few Phoebs of rest, sprinkled with a few easy missions

Now, Lance was taking their safety away. He couldn't bare to let it happen. The team would be in trouble, get hurt, even fucking die and it would be his fault.

It was decided.

"5% should be enough to last you a few days here sending out the distress signal, it shouldn't drain too much."

Blue was crying, whining and begging  for him to stay. She can't lose another one of her cubs. Not again. But the paladin was adamant of his decision.

He smiled as hugged her. His forehead met with cold metal. "Allura will probably pilot you now, Right? She'll make a great blue paladin." She whined once more.

A wave of sadness, despair, rage and grief washed over him like a tidal wave, but his mind was made up. There was sacrifices in this war almost everyday, what difference does it make if he's one of them?

But tears started to threaten to spill, and he let them. No one but him and blue was around to see, so maybe he can show a bit of weakness. "I'm only doing this to protect you, blue... To protect the team..." he defended, voice weak and breaking. "I'll only get in the way. I love you. I love all of you."

The lion was wailing in grief, but she finally got the message. Lance could feel his connection with her weaken, but it was still there. Neither of them wanted to let go of each other, so this weakened bond was something that grounded both of them.

"Take care, blue..."

She nestled into herself, letting out a weak whine. But she sounded so far away, it must've been the weak bond between them.

It took a dobash to finally finish Dakota's sigil. He used up the last of the dust, but it was worth it. The dust rose up and condensed into a sphere, forming into his summon.

_My friend...? You seem distressed. And tired. Did you get enough sleep last night?_

"I... need you to take me to that city over there. I can't get there on foot without passing out, so I called you here. But only if you're up to the challenge, I won't force you to do anything."

Dakota nodded before stretching down, letting Lance have access to his back.

~

The two bolted through the dead land, the wolf's paws thundering against the dry earth loudly. Lance had wrapped his arms around his neck, letting soft fur brush against his cheek. The summon only ran faster and faster as the unknown structures grew closer.

The buildings were in ruins. It was obvious that at some point, a civilization was here. But what greeted them were crumbling shells of what used to be a village. What happened to the people living here?

The two wondered around the town aimlessly. The witch considered calling for anyone, but decided against it. Everyone knows that's how the first person dies in horror movies.

There were houses that still looked intact, but was on the verge of crumbling down. He was willing to take a risk if it meant he would find something of use. "Stay here." His voice was warm but commanding. The wolf obliged, laying down on the ground as he glared at the houses.

The first one he went into was empty, save for a few toppled furniture. So was the second and the third. He entered the fourth house with low expectations, only to find a book. A journal. He swiped the dusty book in his hands and blew off the dust. There was something printed on the corner of the cover, but it was faded. Not to mention in a different language.

He grabbed his phone from his satchel and  turned on an app he knew would translate any language to english. He aligned his camera to the faded word.

 **Language: Yarani**  
**Species: Yampan**  
**Planet: Butylian**

_~Ausra_

Curious, he flipped the book to its first page. There were drawings and sketches of a pod, blueprints and scribbled notes on the side. He didn't bother to translate that one, because he already got the gist of what it was about.

The next page was a few blocks of text. He pointed his camera to it, and the words began to translate.

**_The first test of the ship was a failure. So was the next 62 attempts. I have no idea how father was able to build such machines in a matter of quintants when it takes me and Wisteria phoebs. We can ask for help, but it would no longer  be a sister bonding exercise! No adults allowed. No non-siblings allowed. Sisters only._ **

**_Anyways, little Mave and Wisteria are finally getting along. She finally surrendered sir Mite to him. I swear she clutches onto it like she's still 2. She's 14 decaphoebs old! But hey, at least they're no longer destroying my ears._ **

**_Mom brought home a rast. A rast! We're gonna eat good tonight~~~ And dad got home with a bouquet of flowers. Sunrians. Her favorite. She placed them in a vase and it was such a sweet thing for dad to do. I hope I find a man like him someday._ **

**_Anyway, wannabe engineer Ausra signing out!_ **

**_PS. OH IT WAS THEIR ANNIVERSARY TODAY, I FORGOT_ **

"A pod.... a pod!" He broke into a grin. So he does have a way out of this planet. For a moment, he believed he would have to go back to blue. Thank Luna for Ausra.

He flipped to the next page, which contained another block of text, but it was obviously more rushed and sloppy than the previous. It took a while for the app to translate the entire thing.

**_Okay, so these ships are in the atmosphere. People are saying they're the Galra and their panicking. Hell, I was part of the panic. But they're just... floating there. Dictator Gerwan doesn't want to engage just in case they want peace. But the Galra literally enslave every planet they come across. I think he's scared. We all are._ **

**_But maybe things aren't so bad... I just need to keep myself preoccupied. Yeah._ **

**_So, yesterday Mave climbed a tree. We were all scared because he's a literal infant on the highest branch of a tree. We have no idea how he got there, but we managed to get him down after dad grabbed a ladder. It was pretty hilarious. If it wasn't for his laughing, we would have never seen him._ **

**_The ship is ready. All it needs is a few tweaks and an energy source. I'm going to have to sneak into dad's office to grab an energy source to support the ship. Wait... everyone's screa_ **

It was cut off. Eveyone was screa...ming...? Everyone was screaming.

Panic settled into him as he flipped to the next page. It was jumbled, scrambled and out of line. Not like there was any lines on the journal, because it was clear white. But it looked so rushed and sloppy it was like it was written with their recessive hand. It took the app three dobashes to translate the blocks of text that barely covered half the page.

**_They're evacuating all of us to the ships. The Galra sucked the life out of the planet. The trees are dead and the rivers and lakes have gone dry. Everyone is freaking out. It happened a few vargas ago but we're all starting to get weak, some even started to pass out and lose their pulse. Dead. I don't know how to explain it. We rushed to pack our things. I don't know where we will live. But I hope we'll be safe. The galra left as soon as they did whatever they have done._ **

**_Mave is crying. Mom is trying to calm him down. I don't know where dad is. He was at work when everything happened._ **

**_Please, if you're reading this, the ship is hidden in the mountains west of here. Just find a good energy source, the port is in the control panel. Mom is yelling for me to leave, I must go._ **

The last word was smudged, as if Ausra was pulled away from the journal and her pen dragged along with her. The rest of the pages were blank. This was her last entry.

His eyes caught onto something orange, standing out from the rubble it was trapped under. His heart sunk as he realized what it was. A stuffed toy buried underneath debris.

He didn't know why he did it, it wasn't like it would make a difference. But his legs sprinted to the rubble and dug up the toy. It was tattered and a bit flattened, but alright. He can feel tears spill down his cheeks.

He'd like to believe they survived, that they're residing on another planet somewhere. But what were the odds of that? Even if they did find another planet to live in, wouldn't the Galra just enslave them?

Ausra's journal was stuffed into his satchel before stalking out of the house. Dakota perked up at the toy in his hands, but Lance paid no attention.

He was aware it was a dumb idea, that it wouldn't make a single change in their situation. But he stuck a stick onto the ground and tied another stick across it, making a cross shape. He laid the toy next to it.

He stared at it for a moment before trotting off towards his summon. The toy should still be there if anyone decides to pay the abandoned planet a visit

_What are you doing, Lance?_

The witch shook his head. "Nothing that matters anymore. But I did find a ship west from here, in the mountains. We should take a look and see if we can fly it."

Lance got on the wolf's back and they started west, straight for the silhouette of mountains in the distance.

The wind gushed at his face as they left the village and into the barren land. The mountains grew closer and closer, their rough outline became more clear.

Was team Voltron looking for them? The answer was obvious for blue but... for him? Was it possible that they were looking for him, too?

The mountains were rocky and jagged, having a clear path through them. It brought the mountains of the desert where they found blue into mind. He smiled at the memory. He'll miss them. All of them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry


	22. Chapter 21: space mall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance found his way into a space mall, a newly opened one. He really didn't expect to be one of someone else's purchases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life is great :)
> 
> I hate my life, read end notes to find out :T

Tan fingers tapped onto the control panel as a soft groan mumbled through the room. Lance was bored. He really didn't know what to expect when it came to intergalactic travel.

The ship was large in scale; almost matching the size of an Altean pod, maybe slightly bigger than the ones he's seen in the castle. There was gac hidden in one of the compartments underneath the control panel. He spent a few dobashes to count 2,500 gac. That should be enough to last a few days, at most. Maybe he can stop by a swap moon and buy food and materials. The cookies won't provide him sustenance for too long.

His eyes glanced over at the gem floating in an energy port, glowing its usual blue aura. The rock served as the energy source for his magic, why not a huge ship? Really, he didn't expect it to work. He thought he'd have to fuel it with his own quintessence. But now he can sleep in the bedroom area- which he planned on doing after such an exhausting day.

He got up from his seat and set it to autopilot. He strode out of the cockpit and passed through a room that was connected to all the rooms in the pod. The bathroom, storage room and a bedroom. Thank you, Ausra.

The bedroom door swerved open, letting the witch move over to the bed and drop into the not-so-soft mattress. Really, it's worse than sleeping on metal, but at least this sorry excuse of a bed can help him keep warm.

Not bothering to take off his dusty cloak, or any of his clothes; he drifted into the world of unconsciousness.

He was confused when he woke up again, taking a few ticks to realize he wasn't in his room back at the castle. He was in some ship made by a pair of inexperienced siblings. It was surprising how the ship was still stable up until now.

It didn't take long for him to get up from the bedrock he calls a bed. He made his way into the cockpit, where he can see the vast expanse of space.

Younger him would have been ecstatic to be in the position he's currently in. In space, exploring the unknown. But now he felt numb. Maybe he has seen this kind of scenery a thousand times already, or maybe it was the adventures, sacrifices, and losses he went through to get to this point.

He's lost his innocence and naivety here. The Cuban kid in the garrison has long since died. Standing in his place is a soldier who fights for the freedom of others. But that soldier has departed from his battalion, leaving all parts of military life behind him.

What is he?

Who is he?

What's he doing here?

Shouldn't he just go home?

Does he even have a place there anymore?

Does he have a place anywhere?

**Come on down to the brand new mall just up ahead!**

He stared at the flier hat somehow stuck itself on the windshield of the ship. What in the quiznack? What kind of paper lasts this long in space? Alien paper he supposes.

Another flier stuck onto the windshield, and a third soon followed. In fact, the fliers floated seamlessly around the pod. Confused and flabbergasted, he boosted the thrusters and drove the pod through the sea of ads. A few more made their way on the windshield but Lance paid little attention to them.

Once the fliers were shaken off the pod, Lance caught sight of the dwarf planet up ahead. The surface was a dark purple, sparkled with yellow lights. The northern part of the planet swirled a brilliant, bright yellow.

The more he got closer, the more he realized that the yellow lights were not a part of the planet. No, they were artificially made. They glowed out of large skyscrapers, and the yellow swirl turned out to be an entire building, swirling across its lot. He recognized the building as the one printed on the fliers. The brand new mall.

Once he entered the troposphere of the planet, he scouted the area for any place to land the ship. He was headed for the mall,  hoping to find a parking lot for ships. Other pods like his were aligned in front of the swirled building. He followed suit, the ship landing on the ground with a slight hiss.

Lance swiped the gem out of the port, initially turning off the power of the pod. He jumped off the ship and it seemed to shut down in itself. Hopefully there weren't any ship jackers around the area, the thought of being stuck in a small planet with barely enough money was a horrifying thought.

Once he stepped into the building, the atmosphere around him changed. The air seemed cooler than outside, and much more fresh, too. The mall was full of people, even if it just opened. The stores looked inviting and fresh, and Lance wanted to check them all out.

Although, Lance probably looked somewhat out of place, cloak and all. A snort left his lips, remembering the time Coran made them dress as space pirates in the exact same setting. Maybe they'll have to go through something like that again? He wouldn't know, but it was nice to think about.

Lance grabbed his cloak and took it off, folding it into a roll. He stuffed it into his satchel, letting out satisfied hum to see it fit perfectly. He was dressed normally underneath the cloak, so he could just blend in with the background and not draw too much attention to himself. Really, with a bounty for his capture, Lance wasn't going to out himself as the wanted target.

The human strolled around the mall, stopping by a few grocery shops and picking out something that looked similar to gumballs and powdered milk (it's eaten and not poured with water, or so the translator states). But once Lance reached the food court, he dropped into one of the few empty seats. It must not have been lunch rush hour yet.

He grabbed Ausra's journal and placed it on the table, flipping to the first three pages. He gripped onto the pages and ripped them off, making sure to shoot them into the trashcan nearby. There was no use keeping them there, anyways. It would have just served as a cruel reminder of what happened to the planet. To what the Galra have done to other people.

He grabbed his pen from his satchel, silently wishing it was a pencil instead. The pen drifted above the paper for a while before doodling the potted plant a distance away from him. After doing so, he sketched a small alien child with her mother. They were both trying to find a good store to go to next, hence why they stood still and looked around.

He doodled a couple of things, too. But when he had filled his entire first page with meaningless drawings, he caught sight of a familiar insignia. Just down a corridor was a shop with a large voltron symbol above it. It seemed to be one of the busy stores he had tried to avoid all because of the crowd.

But he stopped caring about being spotted by a potential hunter. Lance grabbed the book and pen and stuffed it back into his satchel before sprinting off into the direction of the store.

He had no idea why he was so curious and excited about the idea of a Voltron store. Maybe he wanted to know what kind of merchandise they'd sell. Maybe the sight of something familiar would ease a bit of tension off of him. Maybe he wanted to see another glimpse of the life he had left.

The store was full of merchandise. From toy bayards to actual action figurines, the place was full of Voltron. I mean, what did he expect? The witch strolled through the store, eyes scanning everyone and everything around him.

There were kids trying on paladin armor and swiping their bayards through the air. They screamed out lines like, "Voltron, assemble!", "Go, team Voltron, go!", and "Voltron, time to transform!"  It made Lance draw out a small, impressed sigh. It was 'form Voltron' not 'Voltron assemble'. It sounded weird to the Cuban, having the iconic line be told wrong.

He found a section of the store filled with decks of cards, all boxed neatly into white boxes with the voltron insignia printed on. It was a card game, like magic the gathering and pokemon, only Voltron themed. It made Lance break into a grin. In one of the aisles were two aliens, presumably in their teen years.

"Uh... they haven't really uh... captured the sense of uh... Voltron in these cards..." a frog like alien croaked out, examining a deck of cards.

The snake-like alien hissed in agreement. "I know right. Like, the black paladin hassss a scar on his cheek and not on his nossssse, right? And the green paladin isssss surely taller. He lookssss like a kid."

Lance had to hold back a laugh. Were these guys actual Voltron fans?

"Dude uh.... the green paladin uh.... is a girl..."

"Short hairsssss mean male!"

"They uh... don't"

"Yesss they do!"

Lance took this as a sign to leave before the situation escalates too bad. Walking deeper into the store, he found plushies and stuffed toys displayed on shelves and in organized piles. All looking like the lions and the paladins. There were even ones of Voltron, itself. They were huge, taller and bigger than him.

The witch walked over to a shelf and picked up a stuffed toy. The blue lion. It was cute and small. Lance stroked its chin with a fond smile, already missing his sentient robot. Hopefully team Voltron has extracted blue out of the planet, she was badly injured and weak.

Lance placed the toy back into its place with the other lions, right where she belongs. He grabs hold of another stuffed toy from another shelf. A blue paladin plush. He laughed for a moment, the idea of having a smaller him in his hands tickling  his funny bone.

The toy was a reminder of who he was. All the happy memories and adventures he had gone through with Voltron. Lance can feel the happiness and innocence in the small toy. It was a rag doll, his hand perfectly wrapping around its stomach. He'll take it, it wouldn't take too much space in his satchel. He checked the price tag, only to feel his heart sink.

Fucking 500 Gac?! Hell, he swears he can feel the pain of his wallet. Why were they so overpriced? He could buy more gumballs, instead. At least then, he wouldn't starve to death. He wanted it, though, and was in a silent debate with himself if he should buy the toy or not. But the witch failed to notice someone's eyes on him.

What brought the human out of his silent argument was his instincts making his legs jump out of the way. Something whipped through the shelf, the exact same place where his chest would have been. Lance turned around, only to be met with a pink alien in familiar armor.

"Moon witch! Great to finally meet you in person," her chirpy smile turned into a smirk as she whipped her tail (That was attached to her head...?) back into place, drawing out throwing knives. "Now hold still."

Lance stuffed the toy into his satchel as he dodged more knives that were aimed at his legs. Yeah, she wasn't trying to kill him. Capture was a much better term.

The witch drew out white blasts of energy at the half Galran, who dodged them with little to no effort. Lance couldn't risk teleporting since he can barely do it in the first place, so instead; he sprinted off, moving away from the rain of knives. How many knives does this alien have?

Barely registering the alarm he set off when he left the store with an unpurchased item, the witch skidded into the hallways of the mall and sprinted into a dense crowd. Aliens gave the human weird looks as he sprinted through them. It almost felt like they knew what he was, as they started to move out of his way.

But Lance didn't have the luxury to contemplate why that was the case. Did Lotor bring out ads for his capture or something?

Another whip sound behind him drove his legs to run faster. He needed to escape. He can't draw fire here, he can hurt the bystanders around them.

Instead, he reached into his bag and grabbed the pack of gumballs and powdered milk from his satchel. He opened the pack and let the gumballs roll off behind him. For good measure, he threw the bag of milk behind him, acting as a smoke bomb.

Lance let out a snicker as he heard a slight thud behind him. Throwing knives still made their way out of the fog. A few knives almost hit fleeing shoppers, causing more havoc around him. But the alien chasing him didn't seem to care who she hit, as long as one of them was him.

And that proved true when a screech of pain bellowed behind him. He turned to see an alien clutching her leg. An alien child. The same one he doodled in his journal earlier. Tears streamed down her face as her mother kneeled beside her, trying to sooth the crying child.

Lance spun on his heel towards the child, sliding into his knees beside her. The child wailed in pain, clutching her leg with the throwing knife embedded on it. Blood oozed down her leg, and she shut her eyes closed in pain. "Hey hey, don't worry. I'll help."

He whipped his head to the white cloud of powedered milk a distance away from them, knowing full well gumballs  milk won't keep the huntress at bay for too long. He rose his finger and pointed it towards her direction. In speed he has never known he had, he drew out Dakota's sigil. He can feel the quintessence in him drain, drawing sigils using his own quintessence was a tiring experience.

But it was a fruitful endeavor, when he saw his summon stand in front of him. Lance knew Dakota can feel the danger and tension in the air. "Protect us," Lance commanded, voice low and authorative. The wolf didn't need to be told a second time when he first caught sight of the alien charging towards them. He wasted no time tackling the girl.

Lance's attention turned back to the girl, whose wails and cries subsided into sobs. "Hey there, I'm Lance Mcclain. Can you call me by my name?" A glowing tanned hand hovered over the blade. Quintessence radiated off his hand, trying to ease the girl's pain.

"Lance... Mc... Mcclain," the girl squeaked out. She held onto her mother's hand, squeezing it slightly for reassurance.

Lance grabbed the handle, his hand still glowing white. "What's your name? How old are you?" His voice was setting the girl at ease, which gave him the opportunity to slide the blade out of her without the little one getting too scared.

The girl sniffed a bit, trying to hold back a sob. "L...Luka... I'm... this many." She held 5 fingers, almost proud of how long she has lived. The blade was completely out of her. Lance let it drop to the ground with a slight _clink_ sound.

"That old already? You must be a strong girl, aren't you?" The girl giggled at the compliment. "Now-"

"Now you're standing up and coming with us," a rough, low but undeniably a female's voice said behind him.

The witch turned to see three other people joining his huntress. A huge, muscular, blue, and feline-like alien grabbed Dakota from the back of the neck; effectively carrying him off the ground. "No..." Lance muttered under his breath. This slight moment of silence made Lance realize that they were the only people left in the mall. Everyone had ran out of the building as soon as they saw the knives being thrown in the air.

The muscular alien pulled out a laser rifle and pointed it to Dakota's side, giving Lance no time to react as she shot him. His body at once turned into dust, but not before letting out a pained cry. "DAKOTA!" He screeched, letting the hand healing Luka fly towards his disintegrating summon. The pained whine of the girl made Lance realize what he was doing, hovering it back above the girl's leg.

"You didn't have to do that to the pupper, Zethrid," he heard the pink alien say, but he wasn't too keen on listening to whatever they were talking about.

Zethrid snarled as he saw the witch refusing to cooperate with them. "I said-"

"Please," Lance looked up with a restrained plea, "just let me heal her first."

Without waiting for a response, he turned back to Luka. "Okay," Lance felt tears sting his eyes, "I haven't exactly healed anyone before except myself, so this is new to me, too."

Tears streamed down his face, but kept a reassuring smile on. "You can help me by counting, it'll..." his smile was starting to feel like a chore, "...it'll keep us both calm."

The girl smiled, but seemed to have tears in her eyes, too. Lance also saw the sorrowful look her mother gave him, like she was apologizing for Dakota.

"Ready?"

"Y-Y-Yeah..."

"Go."

"One... two... three... three..."

"Four..."

"...Four... Five!"

The wound was completely healed once the girl reached five. Lance helped Luka up to her feet. She swayed to the side slightly, trying to get her balance back. Lance gave her a small smile. "Strong and smart! You're amazing, Luka."

The girl giggled and the mother gave him a tender smile. "Thank you..." the mother said, "I did not know what I could have done if you didn't help her."

"Thank you!" The young girl chirped, giving Lance a hug. The boy lovingly returned it, letting more tears slip.

Zethrid, apparently, had enough of this. "Come on, move it paladin."

The witch stood up, completely missing the silent, "paladin...?" Luka's mother gave. With a sad smile, Lance walked over to the four generals. He couldn't outrun them and fighting wasn't an option. He was too drained from summoning Dakota.

Once he was close enough, the blue skinned alien with dark blue hair cuffed his wrists.

"Mister Lance Mcclain?" Luka  said. Lance looked over his shoulder to meet the golden orbs of the girl, glassy and wet. "I'm sorry about mister Wolf." Zethrid grabbed his arm and started pulling him forward.

"I know."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I um... Tried to defend the LGBT to my homophobic dad (my mom worked abroad) and yeah... That was a shit storm. 
> 
> He kept saying it was a disease and unholy and shit like that.
> 
> Now... You may not know this but... I'm a Panromantic Demisexual. Soooo.... Yeah. 
> 
> I never really outted myself to my dad but once I started telling him that being part of the LGBT wasn't bad, he assumed I was gay.
> 
> I mean... He isnt wrong but
> 
> 1\. Straight people can defend LGBT, too.  
> 2\. What the fuck, there is more to tge LGBT than gay  
> 3\. Why was he assuming people's sexualities???
> 
> So yeah. Staying over at a friend's house for a few days.


	23. Chapter 22: Captured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Acxa looked back at the phone, uninterested. This was the 8th time he tried to break out of the cuffs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am baaaaaack and I am streeeeeeessed.

“I can’t believe he was just standing there!” Ezor said, a victorious grin stretched on her face. “I just wanted to see what kind of merchandise that Voltron shop was selling, didn’t realize an actual paladin would be up for sale.”

Acxa rolled her eyes as she sorted through the Paladin’s satchel; pulling out the empty plastic bags, two books, a pen, a flask, his cloak, the doll and his phone. “Don’t be so boastful, Ezor. After all, you were outdone by a pack of candy and milk.” The pink alien turned to glare at her, only to be met with an uninterested teammate; tapping through the phone of the blue paladin. 

The girl huffed as she crossed her arms, obviously pouting. She looked as though she was about to go into a tantrum as she started to shrink into herself. “I don’t see you going through a fog of powder on marble-covered ground! Even you would have slipped. I was as blind as Narti!” the sound of a cat hissing sounded through the room, which made Ezor turn around. “Sorry, Narti!” She yelled, watching Kova relax and go back to her place on her owner's lap. Narti, herself, eased in her seat as she scratched behind Kova's ears. 

The cat startled back as another scream pierced through the room. All heads turned back to the witch; who fell back onto the wall, limp. The cuffs still gave out strings of purple electricity before cutting off. Acxa looked back at the phone, uninterested. This was the 8th time he tried to break out of the cuffs. 

“Give it a rest, witchy!” Ezor called out, grin back on her face. “It turns excess quintessence into electricity, so whatever magic trick your trying to do; it’ll just keep electrocuting you.” Ezor was slightly worried for the paladin, though she would never admit it aloud. The human was determined to escape, she can give him that much. 

The cuffs seemed to get even tighter the more Lance moved, though it could have been his imagination or his mind playing tricks on him. The cuffs around his wrists were attached to each other, like a magnetic force keeping them both bound to each other. 

He regained back composure after a few ticks, letting his quintessence slowly trickle back into the cuffs. It sipped through the wires and gears, gathering as much power out of the device as possible. It detects excess of quintessence, but whoever made this did not think of the possibility of the wearer to drain his own quintessence to disarm the cuffs. The quintessence of the gem hidden underneath his shirt absorbing the power inside the cuffs. Granted, there are two flaws in his plan.

One being that he would be extremely drained after this, not to mention injured since he made a few mistakes in tampering with the cuffs. The second being that the generals would certainly notice if the cuffs were turned off, having a visible purple line of quintessence on it to show if it’s active or not.

White quintessence flowed in, absorbing as much power as it allowed him. His eyes were glued shit, concentrating hard on his energy. He looked limp in the eyes of his kidnappers, like he was unconscious and unable to move. In a way, he was. His mind was completely focused on his quintessence.

So much so that he didn’t hear Zethrid enter the room after finishing her call with Lotor. Her victorious cheers were tuned out and far away, and her insults for the paladin was left ignored. He can feel the cuffs drain of power. 

Lance didn’t feel the ship land, either. But what did snap him out of his haze was the hand grabbing the back of his shirt, lifting him up. His quintessence almost flickered a level too high, giving way for the electric shock. But he was able to hold it back; besides, there was no way they had enough power at this point.

A voice broke through the silent ringing in his ears, the sound hitting him like he was pulled out of water. “-Come on, paladin. Prince Lotor is waiting for you.” Panic washed over Lance, trying to struggle out of her hold. Zethrid smirked as she threw him to her other hand. “Are all humans this scrawny and weak? You’re just as light as that wolf of yours… maybe even lighter,” a smirk grew on her face, “Dakota was his name, right?”

Lance growled out, lashing out at the large alien in an almost animal-like manner. “Shut your quiznak, you over-sized troll!” Even without fully understanding the insult, she growled out a scowl before she shook the human, like a child playing with a rag doll. 

He was dragged out of the ship and into a hangar. Though it was clear he wasn’t in any regular Galran battle cruiser, the theme of black and purple was still evident through the room. Lance can hear the other generals following close behind him. 

The ship was a good enough escape plan. He'll fight off the generals long enough for him to reach the ship and into safety. But he was still too drained from trying to get the cuffs off of him, so he wouldn’t be too good in a fight. The cuffs were only a tick away from completely shutting down, Lance only feeling drops of power remaining in the devices. 

He took a breath in before letting his quintessence lick away the last of the cuffs’ energy. They audibly shut down, catching the attention of the four women. But Lance barely gave them the time to react. The witch let his hand gather enough quintessence, using it to grab onto Zethrid's wrist. The burning feeling was instantaneous, making the general drop the paladin onto the ground.

The human rolled over and threw as many attacks as he could, the generals leaping out of the way. The aliens drew out their weapons, ready for attack. Even Zethrid recovered from her burns, drawing out her rifle. They all surrounded him, which Lance only gave a slight smirk to. He rose both of his hands in front of him with what little quintessence his gem could give him.

He muttered a familiar verse from underneath his breath, watching as the women around him tensed. But he knew that they had no idea what he was doing. His voice grew even louder as he came to the end of the verse. “-Įdîř kőv hæŕżëþq!” Lance yelled out. The generals flinched, but found themselves immobile. They struggled against the force keeping their bodies frozen, but to no avail. 

The witch sprinted towards the ship, his head dizzy and hazed. He felt nauseating dread cloud over him, but he tried to push through. Tried. He was going to make it, Lance was certain; but he noticed the new figure too late. A hand grabbed him, yanking him backwards and into a pair of arms. He struggled as he can feel that same person rip off the gem from its chain. 

He heard the clink of the rock beside him, its light faded as soon as it departed from its owner. The witch struggled even more, realizing his mind was slowly failing him. His vision faded in and out, he can feel himself descend into unconsciousness. He can barely register the generals dropping to the ground, heaving. The spell wore off, and Lance knew there was no longer any chance of escape. 

He found himself welcoming slumber, his body falling limp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the short and shotty chap. A lot of shit is going on right now, but I'll be sure to update as soon as I can. 
> 
> Sorry for the half-added chap :P

**Author's Note:**

> Hey. 
> 
> How are you still reading this, it's so bad.


End file.
